


Creatures in the Dark

by JewellTrim



Series: Creatures in the Dark series [1]
Category: The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Biting, Healers, Hurt/Comfort, Mind Manipulation, No Sire Bond, Oracles, Pack Dynamics, Pack Family, Partial Nudity, Protective Buck, Protective Chris, Regeneration, Tags May Change, Werewolf Chris, Werewolf Hunters, Werewolf Turning, Wolf Pack, werewolf Buck, werewolf Ezra, werewolf J. D., werewolf Vin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-10
Updated: 2017-03-07
Packaged: 2018-08-14 07:46:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 28,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8004262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JewellTrim/pseuds/JewellTrim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's something out there in the dark who is changing people. There are those who will stop at nothing to see them all dead. Can these sides ever come together or will blood be spilled and it is too late?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Directory

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: First of all I don't own these guys. Only the original characters.
> 
> Post civil war just like the original. Slight difference is there are werewolves. Some characters have already met, or their first meeting is different than the original.  
> Forewarning: I have no idea what I'm doing, so if you're knowledgeable about lycanthropy then please be gentle in the comments and tell me.

Alpha  
The leader of the pack who makes the decisions for the welfare of the pack. Creates the rules and decides the ranking, courting and banishment of werewolves. Maintain territory and calls for hunts. Provides emotional center for the pack and helps maintains even temper and bond of the family. They have the final say in everything, but act for the good of everyone in the pack.  
Beta:  
Second in ranking. Loyal to the pack and reinforce the alpha’s decisions. Stand in as alpha when they aren’t present. They can organize hunts as well besides the alpha.  
Salutary Wolf:  
Herbal wolf. Takes care of the ill and injured  
Sentinel:  
Ensures the safety of the pack by patrolling the territory. Make sure no intruders enter the clearing, no new visitors come in without their intentions being made.  
Hunters:  
Trackers and hunters find the prey. Makes sure the pack has an abundance of food. Title is given to the werewolf with exceptional skills in hunting techniques.  
Guardians:  
A werewolf that shows interest and skill in caring for weakened pack members. Watch over the ill and elderly. They make sure they recover properly and are a support unit. If they don’t think the injured is fine yet to be moving around they will inform the alpha, beta, or hunter. Not the healer, but helps them survive and make sure they don’t further hurt themselves. They are stern with those who may insist they are fine.  
Omegas and Pups:  
Lowest ranking. Omegas usually a young werewolf that is new to the pack life and still learning. They can also be an omega for wrong actions (abandonment and was allowed to return later). They are given ‘puppy-sitter’ jobs. Watching the younger ones during hunts and makes sure they don’t wander off. Pups while low in rank have many social freedoms; their antics are tolerated by most of the members.


	2. The Bite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So I must forewarn you that as I was writing this, it became clear to me that they're going to be a little out of character. Not until later I don't think that things are going to settle down to the personality that you all know and love. A few of them are hotheaded and I think the ones so far are a bit younger.
> 
> Ages of characters so far:  
> Chris-33 Vin-23 Ezra-28 Nathan-30

The windmill creaked as the wind picked up, making it turn. The trees in the distance bent slightly under the mercy of Mother Nature. Smaller branches broke off, becoming flying projectiles. The clouds raced across the darkened sky revealing the full moon. Guided under its light was a lone rider on his horse.  
The man was weary, swaying in his saddle as he went. He estimated ten more miles before he reached the next town. Though it wasn’t preferable to be outside with the dangers lurking with it, he had little choice. After his dealings in the last town, he was casted out by the occupants to survive the night. Knowing he needed to reach safety first, the rider was planning on spending time laying low before poking his head back out.  
Hearing sounds all around him had him on edge. His hand rested on the handle of his gun, surveying the area around his horse. The occasional noise of an animal in the woods made him grip it tighter.  
When his horse stopped moving and actually started moving sideways did he finally pull his gun out. The horse’s head strained against the reins and nickered.  
“What is it boy?” asked the man, trying to see what the horse had sensed or smelled. Turning slightly in his saddle, he checked his blind side.  
A rustling noise from the woods to his left had him pointing his gun towards that general area. His horse began to get restless and he had to hold tighter onto the reins to keep the animal under control.  
“Whoa boy. Whoa.” He said, trying to keep the horse from bucking him off or bolting without warning. A howl from close by had the horse rearing up on his two back legs. The rider tried to stay in his seat, but started to slip. He hit the ground beside his horse, but one of his legs were still caught in the stirrup. His heart was beating hard as he tried to recover from his fall and try to keep his horse from running. If it did then he’d be dragged until he was finally untangled. The well trained horse didn’t move until he was able to pick himself up again. The animal paced in place, clearly agitated.  
The man looked around the area by his horse, trying to find his misplaced gun when he fell. The horse nudged his back.  
“Easy Chaucer.” The man murmured., still looking. He just picked up his fallen colt when he heard a howl from nearby. Straightening up again, the man aimed his gun to where he thought the noise originated. A searching hand looked for his horse’s reins.  
Red pair of eyes appeared in the dark woods. They seemed to be floating in the space around them. The man felt a shiver run down his spine as he was unable to take his eyes off of them. The fear of having those beady eyes descend upon him when he had his back turned to get on his horse. So he stood there, praying his size would intimidate the creature. A sinking feeling rose in his chest as he saw the red eyes continue to stare at him and then draw closer. A furry head around the eyes came into view in the moonlight before the body was seen. The creature was the size of a small bear, but had the body of a wolf. It was too large to be a regular wolf. It could probably smell the fear coming from him. Taking a few steps towards the man, the man shuffled back, holding up his gun to defend himself.  
Three shots were fired, but the creature didn’t seem hesitate but for a second.  
He was sure he had hit it. The thing was too big to miss. Panicking that he was ill-equipped to fight such a creature, he decided to risk an escape.  
Mounting on his horse quickly, he didn’t even have to give a command before the horse went into a gallop.  
The creature was breathing heavily behind him. Chancing a look behind him, he saw that the creature was closing the distance between them quickly.  
Turning back in his seat in the saddle, his eyes go wide as he saw a low branch eye level to him. He barely had time to register before he was knocked off. Getting the wind knocked out of him twice made his head spin as he tried to bounce back from it. Something dripped on his forehead and he opened his eyes, the huge wolf was standing over him with its saliva dripping from its slightly open mouth.  
A blood-curdling scream in the night was heard followed by a howl. Birds flew into the night, escaping the act that had been done.

 

An hour passed before the man tried to move. His clothes were bloody as he tried to crawl to where his horse was standing far away, distressed by the smell of blood. The man groaned in pain as his movements only seemed to make the pain in his side worse. Holes just above his waistline marked where he had been bitten. His eyes kept going in and out of focus as he moved slowly. The horse, noticing its owner was trying to get to him, walked over and knelt down so that the man could attempt to pull himself across the saddle. It took the man a while to gather his strength before he had enough energy to do so. A cry escaped his lips as the horse tried to carefully stand back up with its owner.  
Letting the horse lead, the man just leaned himself forward and rested his head against his mount’s neck.

 

Red eyes watched them go from nearby, but didn’t interfere. It stayed a little longer before finally taking off in the woods.


	3. The Confrontation

The town of Four Corners was small and had the unfortunate reputation of being considered the most dangerous place in New Mexico. It was rumored that the creatures of the dark lived within, but no one was sure who was human and who was only half. For that reason, no one trusted their neighbor. Everyone carried a weapon to protect themselves, because while the creatures could disguise themselves most of the time, they would eventually have to change. Once a month, on a full moon night, citizens feared they would be the next victim of these creatures. Full moons were dreaded and the howling heard throughout the night was unnerving.  
To try and protect the citizens, there was a law setup. As long as these creatures didn’t show their other side, their non-human one, they’d be left alone. Some people were furious with this arrangement, preferring not to wait to be killed in their sleep by these creatures. Anyone suspected of being a creature of the dark would be weeded out and killed by hunters.  
A lively group had gathered around three men. One of which was a young man who was barely in his twenties. His long hair and scruffy appearance said that he was a not from around the area. A feather was tied into his hair and he wore a buckskin jacket. The other men were a couple of hunters who had arrived in town to supply the worried citizens with ammunition. Ones said to actually kill the creatures.  
Words were spat at the young man, calling him an Indian lover. That all Indians were savages and that they were all creatures of the dark. The young man was trying to keep his temper in check, but the constant jeers were only making it worse. Clinching his fist, he did his best to not let these men’s words get to him.

 

Across the street, a man dressed in all black, walked slowly out from the saloon. His eyes landed on the mob at the end of town. Pulling a cigar from his pocket, he ignited the end with a match and took in a breath before letting out a grey cloud of smoke. Walking up next to a man who sitting watching the mob too with a drink in hand, he asked him what was happening.  
“Some young’un come into town looking like an Indian. Bein’ accused of being one of them creatures of the dark.” The man supplied before going back to his drink.  
“Do they know for sure he is one?” asked the man in black.  
“Nope, but they don’t ask questions around here. Just arrest people and if they fail the test that they run on ‘em then they kill them.”  
“And the law?”  
“Not too many people believe in the law. I’m guessing them creatures ain’t speaking up because it’ll draw attention to themselves.”  
The man in black let out a growl before pushing himself away from where he stood and made his way over to the mob. His silver spurs clinked as his footsteps fell.  
As he approached the crowd, they parted for him. Some sent him nervous glances while others moved their hands to their side arms. One glare sent their way stopped their movements. Waiting on the side of the inner circle, he took in the people in front of him. The young man looked ready to attack his accusers, but not with the sawed off rifle that was fastened to his hip and leg. His teeth were bared and he snarled a little. The other men looked all too happy to put him down.  
The man in black wanted to shake his head at how easy the young man was making it to let these men have an excuse to kill him. For a creature of the dark to show one’s other form during the day and attack someone would be an immediate death sentence. Plus, these bastards looked the type to make it a slow and painful one. It didn’t look like the young man cared at this point.  
When it looked like the men were going to pull out their guns and the young man was about to charge them, the man in black fired off his gun. It got everyone’s attention and everyone fell silent.  
“That’s enough.” He said, walking into the circle more and pinning the two men with a glare, “Antagonizing someone to attack you just so you can shoot them without it being in cold blood, you must really want to start something.”  
“We ain’t doing nothing but talking. So stay out of this mister.” growled one of the men.  
“You do know that this town has people who are creatures in the dark dwelling among you. Do you really want to try your luck and kill this boy? That right there could start a war between both groups, leaving innocent people in the crossfire. I guarantee you’ll be the first to die.”  
The men looked around the crowd of faces, unsure who would be a threat to them. They sent the man in black glares before pushing their way out of the circle. They would try again later when no one was looking, especially the blond in black.  
When the two men left, so did the crowd, going back to what they had been doing, but were still throwing wary glances at the two men left behind.  
“Why did you stop them?” asked the young man, curious as to the other’s motives.  
“Because you were being an idiot, reacting to them so easily. That and what I said was true. There’s enough people already dead without more people dying.” The man turned and started walking back to the saloon. He figured this was a good enough reason to drink. Stopping a fight without bloodshed. His friend would be proud of how far he’d come.  
He heard footsteps following him, but he didn’t acknowledge him. If he did then that would mean that he was showing that he cared more than he was willing to.  
“Why should you care though? Unless you’re—”  
The man in black turned on his heels and was pretty close to the younger man’s face. “I suggest you don’t finish that sentence because I just might end up killing you myself. I know how fast you’ll heal, but it’ll still hurt like a bitch.”  
The young man didn’t seem all that scared by his threat and actually smiled. “Thanks for the save.”  
The man nodded before turning back to his destination, “Just stay away from me, the less we’re seen together, the better it is for me.”  
The young man didn’t seem to care and followed him to the saloon.

 

A bottle was placed at his table and a shot glass. The man filled the glass and went to pick it up but it was swiped away by slender fingers. Anger tone down to a low boil, he watched as his celebratory drink was swallowed down by the young man.  
“Messing with a man’s drink is no way to show gratitude.”  
“I needed a drink. Plus, I don’t got money.”  
The man complied and poured him another and signaled for the bartender to get him a second glass.  
“You should leave after you’re done.”  
The young man’s expression hardened, “Can’t. I came here to get help.”  
“Well I suggest you look somewhere else ‘cause you won’t find it here.”  
“My people need help. We’re being hunted and killed. Some of them are just women and children.” The young man watched the man for a reaction, “I’m looking for help and a doc who doesn’t care what we are.”  
“You’re referring to your people correct.”  
The young man dipped his head a little, “I can tell from your scent that you’re one of us.”  
The blond didn’t deny it. “Well I ain’t seen a doctor since I’ve been here. No building signs say there is or isn’t one.”  
“I don’t have too much time before I need to get back. I plan on going back in three days.”  
“I’ll help you look for one.”  
“Thanks,” the young man said with a smile and offered his hand, “name’s Vin Tanner.”  
“Chris,” the man in black replied, shaking it, “Chris Larabee.”  
“I sorta gathered. You’re somewhat of a legend amongst the younger generation.”  
“I ain’t that old.” Chris muttered as he poured and drank some of his whiskey down.


	4. The Healer

The man slumped weakly across his horse barely hanging on. The chestnut moved slowly to keep his master on as he walked the last few steps into town.   
People stared as the horse walked towards the livery. A few men tried to approach them, but the horse stepped back, snorting his displeasure. The humans had guns, and his master was always wary of people who carried weapons. One of the men tried to grab the horse’s reins and the horse tried to bite the hand. The man cursed and stepped out of the way of the snapping jaws.

 

From inside the saloon, Chris and Vin sat up alert in their seats. They could both smell the fear coming off of the animal outside as well as the scent of human blood. Chris looked across the table to the younger man who nodded. The two stood up and made their way out the swinging doors. Chris saw with his excellent vision, the rider lying across the back of his steed. Concentrating his hearing beyond the horse’s protest and the cursing men, he could hear the faint sound of a heartbeat. It didn’t sound strong.  
Chris saw a dark skinned man come from out of a room over the livery and climb down the stairs in a hurry. He pushed the other men out of the way and approached the horse. The horse must’ve recognized the man because it allowed the man to see to its rider.  
Vin, without waiting for Chris, went to go help. Chris followed him.  
The dark skinned man looked them over suspiciously.  
“We can help carry him up the stairs.” Chris said, not really leaving room for refusal.  
The man looked at the other men who had tried to get to the horse, they now seemed to be backing away. He wondered if it was because of the man, and what he was. Nodding his approval, he asked if one of them could see to the horse.  
Vin took over there once Chris and the man, who introduced himself as Nathan Jackson, were able to pull him off. The stairs were a bit difficult to maneuver, but they finally reached the second floor where the room was setup like a clinic. Chris could now smell a whole range of herbs that were in different stages of drying. There was also something else in the room that smelled horrible, and he lowered his sense of smell back down.   
With the man lying on the cot, Nathan got to work to see how bad the damage was. Chris stood back against the wall, watching.  
“You a doctor?”  
“No sir. Just try to heal people the best I can. I usually just take care of wounded animals, but I’ve stitched up a couple of bad cuts and pulled a few bullets out.”  
“You know him?” Chris said, gesturing with his head to the man lying unconscious.  
“Yeah. Name’s Ezra Standish. Gets in a whole lot of trouble. His mother is a con woman nad gambler, but she sure as hell ain’t no mother. He ain’t bad though, once you get used to him. Took me a year not to look at him just as a southern boy.”  
Chris nodded. “So, you know what happened to him?” He wasn’t willing to bring his smelling back up because of the weird smells in the room.  
Nathan pulled the last bit of the torn up jacket and shirt away. There were pulls of blood around the area that looked like… bite marks. The healer looked up at the man in black who was now leaning a bit forward.  
“That what I think it is.”  
Nathan picked up one of his knives that he kept near him. He made sure the other person saw it.  
“I know you and that other one outside are some of them. I ain’t gonna be an idiot and pretend you all don’t hunt your own kind.”  
Chris stepped up to the healer and the bed. He kept his eyes on the dark skinned man before leaning down and smelling the body, focusing mostly on the wound. He frowned, trying to place the smell. Standing back up, he noticed Nathan was looking at him in confusion.  
“The area where he was bit was some place where there is evergreen tree. There isn’t too many of those around, plus the soil was damp. Maybe a water source was nearby, or maybe it was carried by the attacker.” Chris stepped over to stand at the head of the bed. “I ain’t here to kill nobody unless they’re trying to kill me. You should be more worried that your friend might not survive the bite and blood loss. If he does manage to survive this, there are plenty of people outside who will. They probably already suspect he is a creature of the dark.”  
Nathan nodded and went to work on cleaning the wounds and stitching them up. Chris watched silently.  
“Damn.” Nathan winced when saw how wide the teeth marks were and how deep they went.  
Chris ran his hand over the man’s side, letting his fingertips feel what was going on, “No punctures to any organs. Whoever did this knew what he was doing.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“This was intentional. Whoever is doing this is trying to build a pack.”  
“What does that mean for Ezra?”  
“Means that if he survives then he’ll have whoever bit him and this town going after him.”  
“Should we move him from the clinic to somewhere safer?” asked Nathan, concerned for his friend’s life.  
The door opened and Vin slipped inside before closing it and standing guard.  
“I think that’d be best. We can do it once it gets dark.”


	5. The Escape

They managed to sneak the man into a room in a room on the second floor of the saloon. They used the back stairs to get him up there. He was never left unattended, one of the three always keeping watch for any signs of change in his health.  
So far it hadn’t been healing, which wasn’t a good sign.   
Vin sat in the chair next to the bed. He had the chair tilted on the two back legs. His eyes stayed on the sleeping figure and listened to the heart beat steadily. The knock on the door didn’t make him look up, smelling Chris’s scent; a hint of cheroot cigars and whiskey.  
“That time already.” Vin yawned and finally sat the chair upright. Chris closed the door behind him and walked up to the bed.  
“If he doesn’t start healing soon then I don’t think he’ll make it.” Chris said flatly.  
Vin already knew that, but he couldn’t help but feel sad. “I kind of wanted to meet him. By how Nate describes him, he sounds interesting.”  
“Yeah well, not everything goes the way you want it to sometimes.” Chris looked the unconscious man over, “I talked to Nathan. He’s agreed to go with you to help your people.”  
Vin turned to look at the blond, “You’re coming too, right?”  
“You said you needed a doctor.” Chris reminded him.  
“Yeah and I need someone to help me protect the people. Now I know you don’t do that but—”  
“True, I don’t. So you should already know what my answer is going to be then.” Vin rose from his chair. His teeth bared and his fist clenched. “I don’t think you fully understand who you’re up against.” Chris said coolly.  
The blond stood to his full height above the younger man. His fangs appeared and his facial hair grew a little longer. Eyes turned blue which was a warning to all that he had killed before and one of them at least was an innocent. His fingernails grew longer, becoming claws. He gave a low growl, the feeling vibrating through his chest.  
Vin also changed, his eyes glowing yellow. Claws and fangs came out and he snarled at the other werewolf. “I’m thinking I’m up against a selfish bastard who won’t help save innocent lives because he’s a huge dick.”  
Chris grabbed Vin by the front of his buckskin jacket and threw him towards the far wall. The younger werewolf laid there for a while. Rolling his shoulders and popping his neck, Chris stepped towards him again. He was going to teach the younger man a lesson. Vin was able to kick Chris in the stomach when he was in range, but that only made the bigger man step back a few steps. It was enough time for Vin to get up and tried to do a side kick, but Chris grabbed his leg and twisted it so that Vin had to turn in order to not injure himself. Chris didn’t see the fist flying towards him and he let go of the leg to guard his face. Getting frustrated, Chris grabbed the next flying fist that was aimed for his neck and brought it around before making quick work of dislocating Vin’s shoulder. Vin growled in rage, but the fighting spirit died and he whimpered in pain. Staggering away to nurse his wounds, Chris watched and arched his head a little higher at his easy victory. The young man was clearly untrained in how to fight different styles of opponents, relying on his speed and rage. He moved to impulsively and wild. Chris knew that if the lad would let him, he could train him to be an excellent fighter. He already had the heart for it.  
“You’ll heal.” Chris murmured.  
“Don’t mean it don’t hurt.” Vin bit.  
“That was all very anti-climactic.” Nathan said, drawing the attention to him. He had watched the short lived fight. From what it looked like, Chris wasn’t even trying that hard. “Don’t take much for your kind to find something to fight over, does it?”  
“He ain’t mine.” Chris grunted, referring to Vin, “He’ll heal.”  
Nathan walked over to the injured young man and after giving a three second count which he went on one, he popped the arm back in place. Vin grunted in pain, but didn’t complain. He did however send glares to the blond who ignored them.  
“What were you all fighting about anyway?”  
“I need help trying to protect my people. They’re being hunted and killed. I wanted Chris’s help to get rid of them once and for all.”  
“I don’t do that.” Chris said plainly.  
“Cause you’re such a saint.” Vin snarled.  
“Because it ain’t my fight. Hell, your people are Indians. I don’t know when the last time you checked in the mirror but you’re white boy.”  
“I lost my pa when I was a baby and my mother died when I was seven. The chief was the one who found me and took me in. They’re the only family I got, and I will die for them.”  
Chris gave a gesture with his hand, “Than by all means, die for them, because that’s exactly what’s going to happen to you when you go out there. You don’t know the first thing about fighting.”  
“And what’s that?” Vin frowned.  
“Don’t let your emotions take over your senses. You lost to me as so as the fight started.” Vin’s head dipped in frustration. “You got heart, junior, but that won’t save you in the end.”  
“Then skip the basics and show me how to fight.” Vin demanded with renewed energy.  
“It’s not like that son, you don’t learn overnight.”  
“I have no choice. My people need help now.”  
Nathan looked at both of the men in the little room. The younger demanding the aid of the older, not accepting refusal. After a long tense minute Chris laughed. It didn’t throw off the tension, but only seemed to increase it if that was possible.  
Chris’s laugh finally died almost as quickly as it came, his face becoming serious, “You must be truly desperate to ask a known killer for help.”  
“Sometimes you need a bad guy to help you kill other bad guys. Besides, I’m in need of a killer for what I’m asking help with.”  
Chris looked to Nathan and then back to Vin before nodding. “I’ll do it. However, what you’re asking for, it comes with a price. When the time comes, you’ll have to do what I want or else you’ll be another number in my body count.”  
Vin didn’t hesitate to agree.  
“Now that you both have come to an agreement; can we go back to watching Ezra here?” Nathan asked as he checked the wound to see if it was healing or not.  
Chris and Vin waited off to the side for the healer to tell them how the man was doing.  
“He ain’t bleeding anymore.” Chris said after sniffing the air and noticing the absence of fresh blood.  
“Looks like it healed alright.” Nathan sighed. “So what now?”  
“We need to get him out of town.” Chris said taking over.  
Nathan nodded, “The last thing we need is for him to survive this and die by some scared citizen. That or turning in town.”  
“I don’t think those citizens you talked about are scared.” Vin said from the window. He had heard some noises from outside and went to look. A small crowd was gathering and they carried torches. “How do either of you feel about being burnt alive?”  
The hairs on Chris’s neck rose and he pushed his way pass the younger man to see the crowd. Something deadly appeared in his eyes and he snarled at the people who dared to come at him with something so dangerous.  
“You okay?” asked Vin cautiously.  
“I’ll take care of the mob. You two get Standish out of here. Vin get his horse and saddle it.”  
Vin nodded, but before any of them moved, a window on the other side of the same wall shattered as a torch was thrown in. The fire began to slowly spread.  
“Hurry!” Chris ordered.

 

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

The smoke grew as well as the flames as Vin helped Nathan to pull the unconscious man out of bed.  
“Vin.” Chris called as he tossed the younger man his clothes as he began to strip. Vin caught them and stuffed them into a bag which he threw onto his shoulder.  
Chris didn’t wait to start transforming into his other self. His bones popped all over and his skin moved as the structure of his body began to change. He got hairier until he was covered in a layer of black fur. Soon a large black wolf replaced the man and Vin paused to watch the magnificent beast with slick jet black hair grow to its full height. The wolf’s blue eyes turned to them for a second before it broke through the window and into the night.  
Shaking his head, Vin concentrated on his job of getting Nathan and Ezra out of the building and to the horses. He led the way out of the room that was quickly getting engulfed in flames. Nathan had his mouth and nose covered, trying not to inhale too much. In the hall, Vin heard the sounds of men down below heading in their direction. Taking the lead, Vin pulled out his sawed off rifle and shot the men in their legs and hands. When one of the men tried to still aim his gun at them, Vin kicked the man in the face and the man fell back unconscious.  
“Come on.” Vin called behind him to Nathan who was moving a little bit slower. They took the back door out of the boarding house and snuck around to the livery. Two men were waiting for them. Since he didn’t have time to reload his gun, Vin let his claws out and rushed one of the men. He was able to knock him out, but the second one was able to get a shot off, hitting him in the calf. Growling in pain, Vin pried the gun out of the man’s hands and smacked him upside the head with it.  
“You alright?” asked Nathan, having seen the younger man get shot.  
“I’m fine. Let’s keep moving.” Vin huffed as he shuffled towards their destination.

In the front, there was more bloodshed. Chris had dropped down outside in front of the boarding house. He looked like a hellhound with his pitch black hair and flames behind him. Steam also came off of his body and his eyes glowed blue. Saliva dripped from his mouth as he growled at the mob. He spotted one of the men who had tried to kill Vin. The guy boldly, or foolishly, shot Chris in the shoulder. The bullet stung, and Chris could only guess that the bullet was made with pure silver. His anger only seemed to increase and he lunged at the man. The guy began to panic and back up, still firing. Two more shots hit Chris before he reached the man and tore through his flesh. The man had screamed before he met his end. The head turned to the others who were gripping their weapons tightly. Some looked ready to flee while others were gripped with fear but stood firm.  
Fools. All of them. Chris growled before charging at them at once.

Nathan saddled Chaucer quickly and then got his own horse before preparing his own. Vin helped the healer get the man onto his horse and then held the reins so Nathan could get on his steed. Chaucer snapped his teeth at Vin who had to quickly move out of the way.  
“Easy Chaucer. This is an emergency. We need to get Ezra out of town.” Nathan said to the horse. When the animal settled, Vin heard the sounds of another horse making a racket in another stall. Vin went to investigate. A black horse was pitching a fit, rearing up to tear down its barrier.  
“The hell is wrong with it?” Vin muttered. He reached over and barely got the door unlatched before the black beast charged out and into the night.  
“Vin we need to go!” Nathan called, having gotten the other horse to settle and was holding onto the reins.  
The three went cautiously out of the livery and found the black horse breathing heavily by the black beast which was standing over the last of the bodies. Most were still alive, but a few were dead. The ones who he injured would no doubt take longer to heal since they were taking Nathan with them.  
Vin understood that the black horse belonged to Chris and went back into the livery to find the saddle. The horse protested to being touched by the younger werewolf until its master calmed it down by running up against its side. The action calmed the horse and Vin saddled the horse as fast as he could before it got impatient. The black wolf had moved to check on Nathan and Ezra. The dark healer stood still while the black head sniffed at him and then the unconscious man. When it seemed he was satisfied that they were alright, the black wolf moved to check Vin. The wolf growled, smelling the wound. Vin only shoved the head away, not wanting to touched. The action sent him to the ground with Chris on top of him. Nathan held his breath, thinking Chris was going to kill him, but instead he nuzzled his head and moved off of him. Something must’ve been exchanged because when Vin got up, he grabbed the fur around the wolf’s neck and climbed onto his back. The group took off with the black horse following beside them. Nathan looked over his shoulder and saw that a few of the people who had been fighting and suddenly hid, had came back out for one last attempt to kill them as they fled. None of their bullets hit them and they were able to escape into the night.


	6. The Alpha

They ran for about a half an hour before stopping. Vin climbed off of the large wolf’s back and muttered his thanks.  
“Next time I don’t need your help to escape. This is the second time in two days.”   
The wolf snuffed at him and stretched out on the ground. Nathan helped Ezra down from his horse and then saw to taking off the saddles. Vin gathered a stack of firewood and built up a good blaze before settling down again. After a while, the wolf got up and walked around the campsite. His ears perked up with each sound before moving on his patrol. Nathan noticed that he was moving with a limp.  
“Is he alright?” he asked after a while.  
“He insisted on carrying me when he was shot a couple of times. He was the one shot with silver, not me.” Vin huffed as he threw another stick into the fire.  
“Why doesn’t he change back into a human?”  
“He will when he’s ready.”  
The night was cold and the wind made things worse.  
“You know,” Vin said, eyeing the wolf which had settled down near Ezra, “We could use Chris. He’s pretty warm.”  
Even though he was still in his wolf form, the glare was still visible.  
“Would you mind Chris?” asked Nathan, hoping to at least keep Ezra warm.  
Chris wasn’t able to say anything, but he stretched himself out so that he was laying on his side with his belly exposed. Nathan pulled Ezra into the warmer space on Chris’s stomach. The wolf dipped his head in invitation for Nathan and the man took the space just behind the wolf’s front legs. Vin didn’t wait to be invited, but just took the other side of Ezra. A large foot pushed him away and the youth glared at the smirking wolf. When the black head went back down, Vin crawled back to his place near Ezra. Chris made an excellent windbreaker and pillow. The four of them slept all night without any interruptions.

 

Nathan and Vin woke up first. Nathan went to start a pot of coffee and boil some water because he noticed that Chris’s and Vin’s wounds were not healing. Mostly Chris’s were a concern to the healer. From the shallow breathing he heard last night, the wolf wasn’t doing too good with the poison inside of him. Vin had gone into the woods for a call to nature and was taking his time coming back.  
While the two were busy and distracted, Ezra began to stir.  
He had been having a horrible dream about a gigantic wolf coming out of nowhere with red glowing eyes. It tore into him, tearing him into shreds before finally eating him. He jerked up suddenly and looked around in confusion. The first thing he saw was Chaucer hanging out by a tree with two other horses. A noise to his right made him see the familiar back of Nathan Jackson. He sighed in relief. He wasn’t sure how the man had found him, but he was definitely going to owe him one. Laying back down on his furry pillow he began to relax.   
Who knew Mista Jackson owned such fine furs.  
He was enjoying the pillow when he suddenly frowned. For some reason it felt like his pillow was moving. Very slowly up and down. Shifting a little to see what he was up against, he practically leapt out of his skin to get away. Nathan had turned around and Vin had emerged from the woods to see what was the matter. Ezra looked around in confusion, but for some reason everyone was looking at him as if he was the one who had lost it. Nathan he knew, but the scruffy looking young man beside him was unfamiliar. Unfamiliar still was the huge jet black wolf he had been using as a pillow. It had woken up when he yelled and Ezra began backing away from it warily.  
“Mista Jackson, do you mind explaining what is going on? Who is he and why was I sleeping on the beast that tried to kill me?”  
“Chris ain’t the one that bit you.” Vin answered before Nathan could try and calm his friend down, “I mean if he did then he’d of killed you sooner than anything. You have no markings showing you were bit. Chris’s bite couldn’t do that.”  
Ezra looked at the man. His attention torn between looking at the wolf who was eyeing him and the young man.  
“And you are sir?”  
“Vin Tanner. That there behind you is Chris Larabee.”  
Ezra turned to where Vin had pointed and saw the last of the transformation as a naked man took the place of the huge wolf that was there moments ago. The man had several bullet wounds and his blood looked black. Chris grunted in pain, ignoring the other man who wasn’t sure where he should be looking as he walked over and grabbed his bags. Pulling out his clothes, he slowly put them on.  
“You should let me help you with those wounds before you finish dressing.” Nathan said.  
“Vin first.” Chris said, pulling up his black pants and putting his gun belt on.  
Vin muttered something about being fine, but let Nathan see to his leg. The bullet was lodged in the bone was removed cleanly. Nathan waited for his medical instruments to clean again before taking care of the blond.  
“Hurry up I’m freezing my ass off.” Chris grumbled.  
Ezra watched as Nathan went over to start removing the bullets. Chris had picked up a stick and was holding it tightly as Nathan dug into his skin to remove the first one. The branch snapped in half as the man, or beast tried to keep himself from hurting the healer. Ezra felt like he was missing a great deal of what had transpired and he wanted answers. Especially with the new questions that were forming in his head. Vin sat down next to him and offered him some coffee.  
“Your horse came into town with you half dead on it. Nate took you to his place, but the townspeople were ready to kill you. Probably suspecting you were bit. You coming into town like you did early in the morning right after a full moon.” Vin explained.  
“Bite mark?” Ezra checked himself, but he didn’t see any traces of anything resembling a wound. In fact, some old ones were gone too.  
“They’re gone now. You healed. Weren’t like that two days ago. Huge bite mark going across your side. We honestly weren’t sure you were going to make it. Bites like that can either kill you or turn you.”  
“And then someone else will kill you.” Chris added and hissed when Nathan pulled out the last bullet.  
Ezra watched in fascination as the wound began to close up slowly. He turned to Vin and noticed that the man’s leg wound was also completely healed. “So you’re telling me that my body did that, and that I’m like you all now?”  
“Not quite. There are different ranks among us.”  
“I know I’m going to regret asking but exactly how many are there of you all?”  
“Well I belong to a pack that’s about thirty. Me and Chris aren’t technically together. He’s what they call a lone wolf.”  
“You said something about ranks?”  
“Yeah, I’m a beta in my pack. There are omegas and alphas. Omegas are usually low rankers and are lone wolves. Alphas are the leaders of the pack and can change humans into our kind with a bite. That’s if the bite doesn’t kill them.”  
Chris made his way into the woods to do his business, the only sound he made was from the silver spurs clinking as he went. Ezra noticed them.  
“You all. I guess me too now. We’re susceptible to silver correct?”  
“Yes. If shot or hit point blank in the head or heart it can kill us. It takes a steady hand to pull that off when ones of us is coming at them though.” Vin laughed but stopped when it looked like Ezra was going to be sick. “You alright?”  
“Just need time to process.”  
“How about we eat.” Nathan suggested.  
Chris emerged from the woods, his hair dripping with water and looked spiked. Ezra watched him cautiously as the man in black began drinking a bottle of whiskey he had in his bags. When the food was ready, everyone ate in silence. Vin ate the leftovers before Nathan could even finish offering.  
Man must have a fast working metabolism. Was everyone else’s thought.  
“So you said you were attack by one of us correct? A werewolf?” Vin asked suddenly.  
Ezra nodded, “It was pretty dark out, but I recall seeing this huge black creature coming at me. It had big glowing eyes—”  
“What color?” asked Chris.  
“I beg your pardon?”  
“What color were the eyes?”  
“Red.”  
“And he was alone? You didn’t hear anymore wolves?”  
“No.”  
Vin frowned, “What’s an alpha without a pack doing around these parts?”  
Chris went back to drinking from his bottle.  
Ezra looked to both werewolves, “Is that significant? For an alpha to not have a pack?”  
“It means he’s trying to make one.” Chris said, “By force. He’s changing people so that he will be stronger.”  
“Stronger?”  
“An alpha is only as strong as his pack. Without a pack, it’s strong, but can be easily killed. He’s basically on the same level as a beta.” Vin explained.  
“But I’m not a part of his pack. Am I?” Ezra asked worriedly. He wasn’t feeling at all happy about his new situation.  
“Not yet, but that just means he’s going to come for you at some point. He’ll call upon the sire and you’ll go willingly.” Chris said without feeling.  
“And you aren’t the alpha that bit me?” asked Ezra, trying to make sure.  
“I’m not an alpha.” The words were said with resentment.  
“I heard stories of you being an alpha though.” Vin said, “If I didn’t see your eyes the other day, I would’ve thought you were one.”  
“To be an alpha you have to have a pack. If you don’t then you’re just a lone wolf.”


	7. The Pup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ages of characters so far:
> 
> Chris-33 Vin-23 Ezra-28 Nathan-30 Buck-31 JD-16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So it was brought to my attention that the eyes for some of them was confusing and it seemed like I was saying that Chris' eyes were blue. Not true. (though I'm sure he'd look amazing)  
> Quick explanation is that this is part of Teen Wolf-au depiction of werewolves.  
> Their eyes color when they are normal have never been mentioned, but they have their right eye color. When they begin to change the color changes to one of these three:
> 
> Gold- standard eye color (like brown for humans *sad face for me*)  
> Blue- because they have taken the life of an innocent human being  
> Red- because they're a boss!!! I mean they're an alpha
> 
> This story is kind of perfect because they announced that Teen Wolf will be having its last season this year. *sad face again*  
> Further questions you can either ask me or feel free to look it up. I don't mind answering questions you might have though. This is after all my first cross over universe type of thing.

He never had been able to say the word ‘no’. He actually didn’t know the word. But this, his rational thinking told him to think better of it.  
What do you know about taking care of someone else? And happens when momma comes along?  
Those thoughts would make him think of the times he cared for his friend who literally was on a suicide mission. That probably fell under knowing how to take care of someone, right? Plus, after an hour, you’d think momma would’ve showed up by now.  
Still he didn’t know what to do with the young pup sleeping at the entrance of the house he’d just came out of. After saying goodbye and other sweet things to Amy and walking out, he would’ve expected to see a gun pointed at him from an angry spouse or father. What he saw was a half-starved pup who looked like its fur was being attacked by fleas. After tossing a piece of food an hour ago, he had forgotten about animals identifying that as a sign that you might give them more if they hang around you. The poor thing had waited an hour outside of Amy’s with the hope there was more food coming. Smiling sympathetically down at it, and not being able to say ‘no’, he picked it up. Carrying the shivering creature, the tall man made his way over to the livery where he found an old tub and used it to clean the poor thing and get rid of some of the bugs off of it. The puppy licked his face in gratitude which made the man laugh. Filling up the tub, he scrubbed the puppy till he was satisfied and the pup climbed out with very little coordination from its long legs. Shaking itself to get rid of the extra water, the man found a blanket to help dry it off.

Ten minutes later the man was walking down the street with an oversized puppy happily following him. Its tail swishing back and forth. Climbing the boardwalk to go into the restaurant the man turned to his little companion.   
“Now you stay out here. O’l Buck will bring you out something to eat in a bit.”  
The pup sat down on its rear, tail still swishing, kicking up dust.   
Satisfied that the puppy would stay outside, Buck went indoors to order two things of steak. He was excited to see the dance the little one would do when it saw the meat. He was still waiting for the food when he heard people gasping loudly outside and talking. Crossing the room of the restaurant, he quickly made it to the doors and pushed them open. Some people were spectating from afar and looked disturbed as a young boy around sixteen sat down in his birthday suit. In the same place he had left the puppy. The young lad perked up a bit as he saw the taller and much older man and grinned. Buck felt a pang in his chest. The poor boy didn’t seem to notice what was happening to him.  
“It’s alright. Everything’s okay. Nobody is going to hurt no one.” He said to the crowd, hoping that the young bot didn’t understand that the crowd was wary of him.  
Bending down, Buck removed his jacket and put it over the boy’s shoulders. The boy sniffed him, like he had done earlier, and decided that he wanted to be petted. He nudged Buck’s hand so that it was under his head. Buck ran his hand over the boy’s mop of raven hair. “How about we get you somewhere set up so we can eat?” The young ten nodded and shuffled to push himself to his feet. He collapsed to all fours a couple times before Buck decided to just carry him. Picking him up in his arms, the boy wiggled in his grasp. Luckily Buck was used to squirmy children and the boy didn’t move too much that he lose his grip on him. Once they were from the critical and threatening eyes of the townspeople, Buck sat the boy down.  
After deciding that standing was too taxing, he went back to all fours. He scratched behind his ear in frustration. Probably lice.  
Buck knelt down beside him so he wasn’t towering over him. “Where’s your mother, pup?”  
The young teen looked at Buck with big eyes before looking away, biting his lip. “Dead.” He murmured after a while.  
“How did you get here? Are you by yourself?”  
The teen sat in place, trying to form words. He obviously hadn’t learned to cross over his memories from when he was in his other form to his human one. He must’ve spent a great deal of time in his wolf form. Lucky for him, he only looked like an overgrown puppy and was less suspicious if he was full grown.  
“How about we get you some clothes and then food?”  
The teen nodded and tried to stand again. He wasn’t successful in his first attempt, but after Buck held his arm to keep him upright, the boy got on his unsteady feet.  
“What’s your name, pup?”  
“JD Dunne.”  
“Well it’s nice to meet you JD. I’m Buck Wilmington. I’ll be your family now.”  
JD’s huge grin made Buck return it before pulling the young one in for a hug.

 

MMMMMMMMMMMMMM

 

After finding some clothes for the teen to wear and picking up their meals, Buck sat while JD gnawed the last of the meat of the steak bone.  
“If there ain’t anymore meat on that there bone then there’s no meat, pup. Simmer down and come over here.” Buck laughed as the teen set the clean bone down and slowly walked over to the bigger man. It was like watching a baby taking their first steps, but Buck knew better than to make fun of the teen. The sixteen-year-old had begun to slowly remember a few things since Buck had brought them their food.  
JD and his mother lived in a house where they were staff. Their small family and the other members of the staff were also werewolves. The master of the house had no idea for the longest. When JD was born, the staff tried to cover it up whenever he was in his pup form. The master’s children would play with JD in his puppy form a lot. JD was still too young to learn how to control when he changed forms and the staff were always careful with him that he didn’t reveal himself to the masters.  
“It just happened one day. I was changing Master Will when I suddenly lost all my hair and my limbs felt flimsy. I think I ate a lot of grass and dirt when I fell. Master Will saw me and thought it was neat. I begged him not to tell anyone because it was a secret. He promised, but then started asking me all sorts of questions. Like if my mother was like me. Then he started asking about the other staff. I was foolish and told him the secret I promised my mother and the others I wouldn’t tell anyone. I just really wanted a friend and Will was really nice to me. After four years passed, I had completely forgotten that I had told him our secret and we continued to play. One day, the whole staff was ordered into a room of the house. The doors were locked on us and they released some type of smoke on us to make us weak. Then we smelled something burning. They had set the room on fire. The windows were barred and the exit sealed off. My mother, she secreted mem away in an old passage tunnel. No one else was small enough to fit. I-I didn’t… I didn’t want to leave her.” JD’s shoulders began to tremble a little as his body shook as he sobbed. “I escaped while my family burned to death. It was all my fault. I still hear their screams and smell their flesh burning…” Buck pulled the boy into a hug as JD took a couple minutes to let out the built up emotions. “Without even trying, I shifted into my wolf form. It was the only time when it came when I needed it the most. I just ran and didn’t dare look back. I spent several days in the woods, which were among the scariest days of my life, second to the fire. I reached this town and just pretended to be a stray dog. Some people would give me food, but I almost forgot about my human self. I had no idea how to change back and I didn’t have money to buy clothes.”  
“Damn—I mean geez, I’m sorry to hear about your family. My friend lost his family in a fire too. They’re were like a family to me.” Buck said, catching himself, “I can help you learn how to shift all on your own so we don’t have any more repeats of today.” JD nodded and yawned, after tiring himself out after crying, he was ready to close his eyes. Buck rested the teen’s head on his chest. “Lessons begin tomorrow, pup.” Buck made himself comfortable as he could on his bedroll before closing his eyes.

The sound of the pup whining made Buck wake up. Sniffing the air, he could smell it too. JD was still very much asleep, but it didn’t mean that his nose couldn’t pick up the extra presence nearby. Buck gave a low growl, bearing his teeth as his canines got bigger and his nails became claws. He stood over his pup in a protective stance. Gold eyes looked in the dark, picking up everything in red. When he saw the other presence, he locked onto it.   
“Leave,” he growled, “or I will kill you.”  
The creature didn’t seem all that threatened by the tall werewolf. It looked like it was debating whether or not to test Buck’s threat. Buck growled again, this time louder. It was a warning that he was not to be taken lightly. The creature retreated and Buck relaxed a little. His teeth and claws both receded and his vision went back to normal. He was still frowning though, this time in confusion. What was an alpha, a packless alpha no less, doing in these parts?   
The sound of JD’s whimpers brought him out of his thoughts and he knelt back down and tried to smooth down the already mussed up hair on the teen’s head. The sign of an alpha openly in search of a pack was never was a good sign for werewolves without a pack like himself and JD.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMM

 

Buck spent the morning trying to teach JD how to change at will. Though the older man prided himself on having great patience, the pup was just not getting it.  
“Maybe after some time it will just come to you. You could just be a late bloomer.” Buck said when they decided to take a break.  
“It’s okay Buck, I know I ain’t good at focusing. People used to tell me I have a bad attention span.”  
“That’s one way of looking at it.” Buck said jokingly.  
The two continued along a trail, Buck telling the youngster about his adventures with his old friend.  
“Where’s your friend now?” JD asked after an hour.  
Buck wiped the sweat from his brow. “Not sure. He said he wanted to be alone for a while and that he’d find me when he was ready to come back.”  
“When was that?”  
“Two years ago.”  
“Damn.” Buck smacked JD upside the back of his head, “Ow! What was that for?”  
“No swearing.”  
“But you said—”  
“I know what I said and I ain’t planning on doing it anymore.”  
“I ain’t some kid. I’m sixteen you know.”  
“Yeah. You’re at the age where you’re influenced by the things you see in hear. I know, I was young and impressionable. You are still a pup nonetheless.”  
JD continued to yap off Buck’s ear about not being a kid or pup for the near forty-five minutes. Giving reasons and examples, most of which were countered by the bigger man. Most of it Buck would tune in and out when it began to get repetitive. He decided to change the subject.  
“Did you sense anything last night when you were asleep?”  
“Huh?”  
“Did you feel another presence?”  
JD frowned, “You mean besides you?” After Buck’s nod JD thought about it, “I felt a shiver run down my spine and felt colder. I had a dream that felt like we were being watched. You mean like that?”  
Buck nodded. So that boy had picked up on the other creature too. Probably catching their scent. “If you ever get the feeling again or catch that scent, tell me.”  
JD nodded, “Why though? Did something really happen?”  
“Not yet, but I like to be careful.”

 

Nearing a town, Buck wondered if they should risk going through or avoid it. Walking into town usually spelled trouble. Most people rode horses, and two people walking into town would raise warning signs. A town like this usually had folks carrying which was never considered a welcoming sign. Keeping his pup close by his side, Buck steered them away from the groups of people walking down the street. From the looks of things, it looked like half of the town was in mourning, wooden boxes were loaded in the flat back parts of wagons and led to the small graveyard outside of town. The last thing Buck wanted was these people to notice them and have some grief-stricken mob aim their guns at them.  
“What’s going on over there Buck?” JD asked, noticing how the older man pushed him away from getting any closer. He could smell something that smelled like it was beginning to decay. It scared him, remembering his family.  
“Somebody was killed. Looks to be about a few people in fact.”  
“You mean somebody killed them?” asked JD, looking up at Buck.  
“Yeah, and it doesn’t look like this place will take kindly to letting us stay and rest a bit before setting out again. Resting here, will lead us resting six-feet under.”  
“Because it was someone like us who killed those people?” JD asked in a whisper. He was beginning to put two and two together.  
“Yeah kid.” Buck said, taking to the nickname whenever they were in public places with humans.  
JD looked back to the crowd of people and tried to focus his hearing on what they were saying. It was one of the few things he knew how to do with his enhanced abilities.  
“I knew we shouldn’t have let that Indian lover live. Then that man in black butted in. Those two were quick to whisk away that injured man that had come into town. Probably was bitten. Those animals are always trying to help their own kind. The darkie healer even helped them. Knew that darkie healer wasn’t to be trusted. Now three of our own are dead and four other men lie injured. That wolf couldn’t be anyone else besides Larabee.”  
“Larabee.” JD repeated the name.  
“What did you just say?” Buck asked, stopping to look at the teen.  
“Those people said Larabee. Said he was the wolf who done killed those men.”  
“Hell.” Buck cursed and began to move them at a quicker pace.  
“What? What is it?”  
“If Chris is killing nearby then that means were getting close. It also makes sense why there’s an alpha without a pack is wandering around these parts.”  
“You mean Larabee is the alpha?”  
“No, I mean the alpha must’ve sensed Chris’s presence and might go after him. Some alphas are territorial while others like to challenge others to gain pack members and increase their power.”  
“So we’re going in the opposite direction?”  
“No, we’re going to try and find an old friend of mine.”


	8. The Reunion

Chris sat under a tree, eyes focusing on a deeper part of the woods. He had been doing this for almost two hours while the rest of the group rested and packed their things to keep moving. Ezra wondered if he had gone into a trance.  
“What’s he doing?” Ezra asked in an almost whisper to Vin.  
“He’s keeping watch.”  
Vin was busy trying to get rid of the evidence of their camp.  
“I know he’s keeping watch,” Ezra said in exasperation, refraining from rolling his eyes, “but wouldn’t he need to look at more than one section of the woods instead of gazing in the one spot for now two hours?”  
Vin frowned, realizing that Ezra had a point. He walked over to squat next to the blond. “Something out there?” He did his best to focus his own senses on the direction Chris was looking out at.  
“He’s been watching us for several hours now.” Chris murmured.  
Vin’s attention went back to the blond. “The alpha that attacked Ez?” Chris didn’t respond, but he didn’t have to. “We’re about six miles away from my pack. It will be safer in numbers for Ez.”  
Chris got to his feet, keeping his eyes at something in the far off distance. “Don’t think that’s what’s keeping him away.”  
Vin nodded, “Didn’t mean to offend. You alone are enough to make any lone alpha think twice about taking Ez.”  
“You seem to think I’m here to act as your protector. Once I get rid of the hunters I’ll be gone. I’m not looking for a pack.”  
“And who would want to be tied down with you?” Vin huffed. He didn’t mean it, Vin actually was beginning to like the man. Even if he could be trying.  
Chris looked down to Vin for a brief second after his words before looking back in his spot.  
Vin went of finish packing with the others. When they were all ready to leave, the group noticed that Larabee had still been fixed in the same place.  
“Ready Mister Larabee?” asked Ezra from on top of his horse. He was ready to reach any town that offered a decent bed.  
“He’s gone.”  
“Good riddance. Now shall we hurry to return Mister Tanner to his… uh family.”  
Chris threw the group a scolding glare, “Why would he stand there, ready to attack, waiting for us to let our guard slip for an hour just to turn and run away?”  
“Maybe he realized he couldn’t win against you in a fight.” Nathan suggested, remembering the bodies the black wolf left in town the night they fled.  
Chris rolled his eyes and focused his senses again where the alpha had been. He pushed his senses further. The wind changed course and his body went rigid. Then he heard the faint sound of a howl.  
“It can’t be.” Chris murmured. He took off in the direction he heard the plead for help.  
“Whoa, what’s he doing?” asked Nathan, turning his horse in the direction Chris had taken off in. Vin stepped out of the way as the black stallion went after its master without hesitation.   
Chris caught the saddle horn and reins of his horse as the powerful beast caught up to him and he swung himself onto the saddle and kicked the sides of his horse to go faster.   
Nathan and Ezra’s horses were ten yards behind the black horse and its rider. Vin ran alongside them. Ezra’s horse took the opportunity to go its fastest and took off after it new friend. Nathan was surprised that Vin was making little effort in keeping up with him on his horse, which while bringing up the rear, was moving pretty fast.  
After a while Chris heard another howl and he dropped the reins of his horse. There was a tiny cliff they had to climb to get to the other side. Standing precariously on the saddle, he leapt of off the horse just as stallion went to a stop, being able to go no further. Chris clawed his way up the cliff quickly before running top speed. Vin didn’t slow down when he reached the overhanging cliff and scaled in three leaps. Ezra and Nathan looked at each other before getting off their horses and try to find a way to find a way up. They went at a grueling pace, before reaching the top. Then they had the problem of trying to figure out where the others had gone in.   
“There.” Nathan pointed at a disturbed part in the woods where it looked like someone had plowed their way through. Most likely Chris. They ran in that direction, hoping to find the others.

 

MMMMMMMMMMM

 

Buck didn’t know what to do. The alpha had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and was circling him and the pup. Its mouth was dripping with saliva and the red eyes glared hungrily at them. Buck pushed JD behind him, the young werewolf cowering a little at the dangerous beast. If he wasn’t careful, and if he didn’t have Buck there to protect him, he would’ve submitted by now in fear. Having never had to deal with a dangerous alpha before, he was scared of what would happen if they refused to join its pack. They might wind up dead.  
“Buck,” JD whispered, “what are we gonna do?”  
Buck was hoping beyond hope that Chris was close enough to have heard his call. It wasn’t that he was weak, but this alpha was dangerous and didn’t have anything to lose, unlike him. He had JD to keep safe. Chris, in comparison to himself, was quicker on his feet and was always fighting. He had more skills in this. Wilmington on the other hand never liked to use his powers for violence if he could help it. He liked the feeling of running free in his other form, but he also appreciated being able to go into towns to meet women. He couldn’t cut off society like Chris. As the oldest present, he’d protect the pup. It was his duty that he proudly took.  
“Come one then!” Buck growled. His teeth and claws already out. “What are you waiting for?”  
The big wolf stalked closer, making Buck tense up for an attack. A howl behind the alpha made them all turn to see a man appear from the woods. He was breathing heavy, as he snarled. The blond spikey hair was longer than the last time he had seen it, and the clothes reminded him of death. It was a welcome sight to Buck. Crisp blue eyes glared at the alpha, teeth bared and claws out.   
Chris growled, drawing closer. A few minutes later another figure came out of the woods. He was smaller than Chris and a lot younger. The blond tried to get at Buck, but the alpha was purposefully cutting him off from getting to him. Buck saw what the alpha was doing and tried to think of a way to get over to his friend. Taking a risk, he pushed JD some ways away from him. JD began to panic, trying to get back under the protection of the bigger man. The alpha snapped his attention to the pair. When Buck was able to shove the teen away from him, the alpha started to stalk towards the scared teen. JD backed up, feeling betrayed and frightened. Just as the alpha was about three yards away from JD, Buck lunged at the beast and knocked it sideways.  
“JD, get over to the others!” Buck ordered.   
JD on shaky limbs followed the command and ran over to the blond. The blond pushed him to the other man and went to help Buck who was losing quickly to the big animal.  
Just then, Nathan and Ezra appeared. Nathan was panting, hands on his knees, but Ezra seemed strangely fine. He was breathing heavily, but didn’t feel like he was going to collapse like the other man.  
Ezra watched with open fascination as the two men fought together against the beast almost three times their size. The fact that they were holding their own against it told him how strong the men were. When the wolf was able to separate itself from the pair, its eyes turned to him. Ezra gasped at the feeling and fell to his knees. He faintly heard Nathan call his name. Hearing voices in his head, he tried to silence them by throwing his hands over his ears.  
“What’s happening to me?” he groaned. Claws began to emerge and they dug slightly into his scalp. His lips and gums bled as his mouth tried to make room for the growing canines. Frightened green eyes grew pale before changing completely gold.  
Chris turned to look at the newly made werewolf who was suffering behind him. The alpha was trying to claim Ezra as part of his pack. The man had no idea how to not submit himself, especially when it was the alpha that sired him.  
Growling, Chris turned back to the alpha. “You can’t have him.”  
The alpha gave a noise that sounded like a scoff as it tried to draw near Ezra. Chris and Buck made a two person wall from the others.  
Taking a reckless charge without Buck, Chris sprinted straight towards the wolf. Before reaching it, he did a running slide, going under the beast. His claws dug into the underbelly of the alpha who reared up and pinned Chris down. The blond grunted as he tried to push the paw that was pressing on his chest. Getting pulled up to his feet, he was thrown into a tree. There was a disturbing crack as Chris slumped against the base of the tree.  
Vin growled and tried to attack, Buck put his hand in the way.  
“Wait, if we try to attack him separately we won’t stand a chance. Chris should’ve known better than to go in by himself.”  
“We can’t leave him over there.” Vin hissed.  
“We go together.” Buck instructed.  
Vin nodded after a while. He turned back to the young teen and Nathan. He got a nod from both of them. Nathan would keep an eye on Ezra. The group moved together, toward the fallen man. The alpha tried to get to Ezra and was made to back off with Nathan aiming his gun at it. Buck and Vin reached Chris and when they were all on one side with the alpha on the other, Buck stepped up to take a protective stance. “Leave. There’s nothing for you here.”  
The alpha eventually retreated back into the woods after realizing that he wouldn’t be able to get what he wanted this time.  
Vin knelt down beside Chris and checked for a pulse. Nathan did the same and slumped a little when he didn’t get one.  
“Give him some time, he’ll come back.” Buck said before going to check on his pup who was still pretty frazzled. “Chris maybe on a suicide mission but he don’t die easy, especially over something like this.”  
“He has no pulse, and I heard his bones break when he was slammed into the tree!” Nathan sputtered.  
“It takes something a little more to kill a werewolf. We’ll be out for a while, but it’s only to recover. Just like Ez.”  
A several more minutes passed before Chris started awake, coming to swinging until his friend calmed him down. “Good to see you’re still alive and hot headed as always, war dog.”  
“And you’re as oblivious to my injuries as ever, Buck.” Chris huffed as he struggled a little to his feet. Buck helped him up.  
The blond looked over to his group to check if they were okay. Vin looked relieved at see him up. Nathan was sitting with Ezra who was sweating badly. He was probably still shaken from what had happened. “Everyone okay?” He asked in general, his concern was mostly for the newly made werewolf. Having never experienced a change before, the man was fortunate to have just missed the recent full moon, giving him more time.  
Nathan gave a hesitant nod, “He’s started to feel a little better once the alpha was gone, but he still has his claws and canines out.”  
Chris staggered slowly to Ezra and Nathan before dropping to one knee. He placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. The man flinched terribly. “Standish. Look at me.” Scared gold looked up at him. “I need you to focus and let it all go.” Ezra tried to slow his breathing and shrug off the other form.  
“What’s he doing?” Nathan asked Buck, not knowing what was going on.  
“A person who is sired to an alpha can be controlled by the sire bond to do as it commands. The alpha was forcing him to change against his will. Without help, he can be stuck like this.”  
“Can Chris help him?”  
“He hasn’t really use the side of him that can do that in a while. Let’s just hope he can.”  
“What do you mean?” Nathan asked, but his focus had gone back to the pair still on the ground. He watched and a shiver ran down his spine as Chris continued to speak in an almost inaudible voice to the other man. His eyes seemed to be flickering red at times instead of the blue he had seen from the man. “How’s he doing that? He’s not an alpha.”  
“Not anymore, but before, he was.” Buck said, watching his friend and remembering better times.  
Ezra slumped into Chris’s arms as he was finally able to change back to his human self fully. Nathan went to his friend and Chris handed him over before getting back up.  
“What you just did—only an alpha can do that. Command someone to change.” Vin looked in wonder at Chris.  
“If you’re implying if I made Ezra part of my pack, the answer is no. I want a pack.” Chris said moving away.  
“Who’s your pup there.” Buck asked with a smile, gesturing to Vin.  
“I ain’t a pup! I’m twenty-three.” Vin bristled.  
“Still a junior in my book.” Buck grinned, unrepentant.  
“His name’s Vin Tanner. Beta in the pack he belongs to. He ain’t mine.” Chris explained, emphasizing the last part.  
“Beta you say? And why’s he with you? Got separated or something? Run away?”  
“My pack is under attack by hunters. I asked Chris and Nathan for help.” Vin clarified.  
Buck looked surprisingly at his old friend. “You actually volunteered for this? You? Takes me a lot of threats to get you away from your bottles.”  
“None of which would actually have an effect on me if you tried to use them. It’s a one-time thing. Once I’m done there, I’m moving off again. They’re killing women and children. Kind of hard not do something.”  
Buck nodded in understanding. “And the others?”  
“Nathan Jackson. Healer. Ezra Standish. Recently turned human. Alpha was the one who turned him.”  
“Kind of got that last one.” Buck turned to the other men with a friendly smile, “Buck Wilmington, at your service.” He turned back to Chris. “So are you done running for now? Are we good?”  
“Yeah I think we’re good.”  
“So you don’t mind if me and the pup join you boys?”  
“If he is with you then he is your responsibility.”  
“Hey, I’m right here?” JD snapped, a little annoyed they were treating him like a kid, “And I’m not some pup that needs looking after. The name is JD Dunne.”  
Ezra had barely woken up for the rest of the introductions, he smiled at the youngest member’s introduction, “This party has certainly grown lively.”


	9. The Pack

Vin took up the lead once they found the horses again. JD rode on the back of Ezra’s horse with him while Buck took up the back of the group with Nathan riding beside him. Chris walked next to Vin. Buck and JD talked most of the time, probably to help distract the teen. Ezra joined in every one in a while to the topic. The rest of the group heard how Buck had found JD a couple of days ago. Ezra was surprised to find out that JD was a werewolf, and it seemed that he was born one, not turned like him. This brought on the topic of the difference between the two.  
“Basically there isn’t one. However, those who were born were wolves feel like they’re are superior than those who were turned.” Buck explained. “However, all of us don’t think that way.”  
“You’re a born werewolf?” asked the gambler.  
Buck nodded, “My mother was a werewolf.”  
“And Mister Larabee?”  
“Turned, but he doesn’t remember who was the one who turned him. He then was married to his wife and it didn’t matter to him. Not until his first change. Sarah knew I was a werewolf and was fine with it, she soon was fine with Chris’s new ability.”  
“Buck,” Chris growled from the front, “shut the hell up before I put you down.”  
Buck gave a laugh at the threat, but stopped talking about it.  
Ezra wondered more about the story. So apparently the blond was a turned person like him. Maybe he could ask advice from the man. Vin, he guessed was a born werewolf.  
“So what’s the advantage of this new…life? It only seems to leave you horribly injured and in pain just for you to be healed again. That and almost dead to come back to life.”  
“We have heightened senses, run faster, can lift more, and we tire slower.”  
“Yes, but what about full moons? Is it true we’re forced to change?”  
“If you know how to control it, you can actually keep yourself from turning. I do it a lot.” Buck offered, “For a newly turned werewolf, you’ll need time to learn how change before you can do that. When you learn how to control your emotions, you’ll be fine.”  
“I don’t think my emotions will be the problem ever.”  
“That’s what a lot of new people think but your emotions are heightened now. Just like your senses. When that happens, you’ll need to find something to focus on.”  
“Such as?”  
The big man shrugged, “Could be another person, a specific thing, words like a mantra.”  
“What’s your focus Mister Wilmington?”  
“Oh I rarely lose my temper, but on those rare occasions, I think of my mother.”  
“I doubt I’ll ever say the same about my mother.” Ezra muttered to himself though he didn’t yet understand that everyone but Nathan could hear him.  
“Why wouldn’t you think of your mother as a calming source?” JD asked before anyone could stop him. The teen hadn’t learned yet what was to be considered to be listen to and what was to be ignored.  
Ezra tried to think of something quick to say, but Buck beat him to it.  
“Pup, that wasn’t for you to hear. Ez don’t have to answer that if he don’t want to.”  
Vin turned to the others, “We’re almost to the sight where my pack is. Wait here so I can announce you first.”  
The young man disappeared and the others waited patiently. Chris used his vision to keep an eye on the man. He could see the members of the pack go into defense.  
“Nobody go for their weapons.” He instructed.  
No one was able to ask why before they were surrounded by young men who were wearing loincloths and animal skins. They growled at the group who sat still while they were inspected. Chris gave a low growl at the two young werewolves that got too close to him and the ones who got close to Ezra. Buck frowned at the behavior. He understood why he didn’t like them getting close to him, but why was he all coiled ready to attack those who got close to Ezra’s horse. Part of him wondered if an accidental bond was formed when Chris helped Ezra.  
“Brothers, enough, they are here to help.” Vin said as he came back.  
“You bring outsiders into our camp. Other werewolves. You have broken the law, Dancing Eagle.” Growled one of the young Indians.  
“We need help. We’ve lost too many of our pack members as it is.” Vin snarled.  
Some of the young werewolves grabbed Buck and then dragged Nathan off of his horse. One of them took JD who began to fight back a little. When one of them tried to grab Ezra off his horse a deep growl stopped them. Chris had shoved the young werewolves who had tried to take him and didn’t bother to wait before shifting into his other form after jumping off of his horse. The big wolf sent the young werewolves away in fear. The ones holding Larabee’s group let them go and the big wolf kept his eyes on them as they moved back to Vin.  
Vin tried to approach Chris, not sure if he’d be seen as a traitor. He hesitantly held out a hand. The wolf sniffed it and seemed satisfied, it turned back to the rest of the men. Buck held JD close to him and Ezra was between Nathan and the other man. Chris sniffed at each of them, checking to see if they were alright.  
“Chris. You can’t enter if you’re in that form.” Vin said, trying to persuade the other werewolf to change back. Chris sent him a growl in response. It didn’t appear Chris or any of them were going to go further, unless on his terms.  
“What is all this?” asked a dark skinned older man.  
“Dancing Eagle has brought outsiders into our camp.”  
“What were you thinking boy? Don’t you know we have enough troubles as it is?”  
“We need help!” Vin growled, “We are short on warriors. We can’t cover our land. I’m trying to do what is best for the pack.”  
“And you think bringing in this dangerous werewolf would be considered helping?” spat the man.  
Chris stalked forward and growled at the man. Vin placed a hand on the furry head, trying to calm the beast down.  
“It is alright.” Came a weak voice.  
Vin dipped his head in respects, “Alpha. I brought warriors to help us in our fight and a healer to aid the wounded.”  
“It is not your job to go out and look for help.” Huffed the dark skinned man.  
“It is alright. His intentions were good. We will not turn away these men.” Said the old man. He walked up to Vin and Chris and nodded his head in respects. He felt the presence of an alpha who has surpassed itself and the great power it possessed. “You are welcomed, I am the chief and alpha of this pack.”  
The wolf’s head dipped in acknowledgement and the wolf changed back to his other form. Chris still stood in a ready stance.  
The alpha turned to Vin, “Bring your friends in.” he chuckled a bit when he turned to Chris again, “Find this one some clothes.”  
The group was led in and they made a little camp on the edge of the main tents. Vin came out after finding clothes for Chris. He looked different, wearing animal skins. The hide he wore for pants were tan which looked strange on the man who dressed in habitual black. Vin also had changed, no longer wearing his ‘white man’s’ clothes, but more like the same clothes as the Indians.  
Chris checked over his men once more before sitting down by Buck. His friend looked him over with concern.   
“You okay, hoss?”  
“I’ll be fine once this is all over and I’ll be gone.” Chris muttered. He dug into his saddle bag and pulled out one of his bottles. He drank some of it down before handing some to Buck. Buck smiled at the gesture and drank a healthy portion before giving it back.  
“So why did you go all defensive back there?” he asked the question Chris probably didn’t want to answer.  
“We don’t know these werewolves. I don’t care if they’re curious and looking from afar, but they don’t manhandle us.”  
“You mean Ezra? You didn’t start to freak out until they went after the gambler.”  
“He’s new. He doesn’t want any of this. The least we can do is get him somewhere where he can learn and be from harm when he does.”  
Buck accepted the excuse for now. Seeing that his friend wasn’t going to say much else.  
Vin walked over to them and sat down.  
“So what happened to you being a beta.” Chris asked with a raised eyebrow.  
Vin straightened his back a little, “I am a beta. I was in training for this position but was appointed early because of the deaths of my pack members. I was given the rank to fill in. There are others my age who are beta rank now.” Vin glared at a spot on the ground, “Only in name though. The older betas never accept our council, saying we’re too young to understand the position and its responsibilities yet. No one takes us seriously.”  
“Well I don’t see why you bother sticking around.” Buck wondered. His comment was answered by a glare.  
“So what’s the plan?” Chris asked, wanting to be doing something.  
“The older betas want to leave. Because our alpha is pretty old and isn’t a warrior, he has decided it is for the best if we move from here too.”  
“Just because you move from this area don’t mean they won’t just follow you.” Nathan said.  
“I know, but it isn’t my decision. I’m already considered a renegade for my last actions in bringing you here. They say that it is the white man’s mess of metal and fire that has come to destroy us and I bring more of them. They don’t trust you.”  
“And you either I’m assuming.” Nathan guessed, “I mean, from just observing what I have for this short period, you’re the only white man among these freed slaves and Indians.”  
Vin played with a blade of grass in between his fingers. “My father died before I was born and my mother when I was seven. I was found by a group of Indians who have since entrusted me to the chief. I’m the adopted son of the chief, but no one really trusts me because they fear I will go on the path of other white men and kill them when I reach a certain age.”  
“You are brave to stay where everyone looks at you with little confidence in you.” Ezra said, knowing the feeling, but always hid his hurt just like this man.  
Vin just nodded his head before looking to Chris, “I’d be appreciative if you rode with us when we leave this area until we pass over to the next state.” Chris grunted a little but gave his agreement in the end. Vin then turned to Nathan, “Some of my friends are injured, could you see them?”  
Nathan went to his saddle and got his things before following the young man. He felt the eyes of the whole pack on him as they went through the camp.  
JD shifted in his spot with barely suppressed energy. He wanted to get up and explore. To follow Vin and Nate into the camp.  
“Calm down there, pup. The minute you wander off the minute you’ll have a dozen scared Indians on your ass.” Buck said, laying a hand to stop the teen’s movements.  
“This is boring. I thought we’d do something a little more exciting than just sit here.”  
“How about we go back to our lessons and try to get you to change at will?”  
JD looked a little nervous about trying to change with an audience, but knowing that Ezra still didn’t know how and Chris was busy drinking, he figured he could give it a shot.  
Ezra watched the young teen’s attempts. He was curious if it was hard or not to change form. From what he could tell, JD was having a difficult time concentrating.   
“Would you like to try Ezra?” Buck asked, turning to the other man.  
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Ezra said, shifting a little. “I prefer not to turn into an uncontrollable wolf. The only lesson I need is to prevent this other side from coming out so I can go back to living my life. No offense to anyone here, but I’d rather be in a nice warm down feather bed or playing poker.”  
“I’m pretty sure most of us would like that picture you painted Ez, but things will be different for you now. Mainly people in how they’ll respond to you. And you don’t have to worry about turning into a wolf. Only a few werewolves have that ability.”  
“Mister Larabee for example?”  
“Yeah, and that other alpha.”  
Ezra rested back on his elbows as he tried to get comfortable. “So is Larabee an alpha or…”  
“I’m right here Standish.” Chris growled. Ezra flinched and turned to the other man.  
“Apologies. I didn’t mean to talk about you.”  
Chris only grunted before getting up and going for a walk in the woods. JD saw the opportunity and ran to catch up to go with him.  
Buck only shook his head at the eagerness of the teen. He turned back to Ezra who had closed his eyes to take a nap.  
“You know if you never practice changing you’ll never learn how to control it when you do, and you will turn.”  
“I think I’ll be fine Mister Wilmington. Thank you for your concern.” Buck wasn’t convinced. Taking a huge risk at getting mauled, he pulled out his gun and aimed it at the gambler. “Mister Wilmington! Please desist from this jest. It is not funny.”  
“Ez, you’ll need to learn about your new self, and you can only do that through experience.”  
Ezra inched away, “I’ve experienced enough to not have a gun pointed at me.”  
Buck lowered his gun and shot Ezra in the hand. Ezra yelped and cradled the bleeding hand.   
“You’ll feel the pain, but when that subsides you may start to feel anger—” Buck stopped and watched as Ezra began to growl. Lifting his head to glare at the taller man, the gambler’s emerald eyes turned to a glowing gold. He began to snarl as his fangs grew out.  
“Now when you start to lose control, you need to find a focus point. Like what we talk about earlier.”  
Ezra got into a crotched position ready to pounce on Buck. Getting to his feet, Buck tried to keep the man from doing anything he would regret. Some of the Indians looked ready to take of the untrained werewolf if necessary.  
Ezra wrestled the bigger man to the ground and the two rolled around in the dirt. Buck did his beat to pin the smaller man down without hurting him, but Ezra was too quick for him. A growl from close by had both of them stopping. Ezra pushed himself away from Buck and continued to back up. Looking up, Buck saw his friend reappear from the woods. He was growling at Ezra until the man was settling down again. Buck smiled to himself when he saw the blond’s eyes flash red before going back to blue. Chris was becoming an alpha again. He wasn’t sure if the man was yet aware of this, but he didn’t want to ruin things by driving the man away with his discovery. It was a natural action to assert dominance over the group as an alpha. Buck looked back to Ezra who had lost his fangs and claws. His eyes were green again, but he was still shifting nervously away from Larabee. He decided to distract the man from the older werewolf.  
“Your hand healed nicely.” He pointed at the hand he had shot a few minutes ago.  
Ezra threw him a glare, but his temper didn’t rise again.  
“You are aware that a person in my profession, their hands are valuable.”  
“I’ll remember that next time if I need to shoot you.” Buck said as a joke, but it was met with two glares. “Or not. Where’s the pup?” He hadn’t seen JD come back with Chris.  
The man must’ve heard Ezra’s distress and felt his anger and ran to investigate. Leaving the boy out in the woods.  
Buck got up to go and look for him with Chris when they heard a shot fired deeper in the woods. The two werewolves were already now. Ezra pulled out his gun, trying to determine which direction the shot was fired. Soon another shot was fired, about twenty paces away from the first and then another.   
“It’s them.” Vin said, running to the small group. He looked around and noticed one of them were missing. “Where’s JD?”  
Buck tried to expand his range of smell and hearing to find his pup. He knew he didn’t really practice using his skills that often, but he could at least try. Chris was doing the same, his range further than the other man.   
“Over there.” Chris said, taking off in the woods with Buck and Vin. Ezra debated going with them or not, but another shot had him going in the opposite direction. If they were being surrounded, then it was best to get out from the area not yet reached. He however couldn’t leave Nathan so he went in search for his friend.  
Chris reached JD a few minutes before Buck and Vin. JD was cowering in his puppy form, having changed in fear. Buck scooped up the shaking pup and looked to Chris who was still looking around to find the source of the shots. Now that he was further out in the woods, he could smell the gunpowder.  
“Get JD back to the camp. Tell the chief that they have dynamite.” Chris instructed. Buck kept his head down as he carried JD back to the campsite. Vin lingered behind. “Go with them Vin.”  
“This is my fight, cowboy. I tend to see it to the end.”  
Chris shook his head, but didn’t argue him over it. Vin kept low to the ground as he followed the sounds of men reloading their guns. Chris was a little further away to flank them.   
The men heard a rustle of leaves but didn’t look up in time before Vin had them in a headlock and put them out. Chris went over the other man clamped a hand over his mouth and nose. The man struggled to breath but the iron grip over his face didn’t move and he soon went unconscious. Chris dropped him roughly on the ground before moving to the firearms and the dynamite he had sniffed out.  
“You know how to shoot?” Chris asked, offhandedly.  
“Best in the pack.” Vin grinned as he pulled out his sawed off rifle.   
Chris picked up the rifle that the hunters were no longer going to be using and looked to where they heard the second shot fired. The older man left Vin to sneak around the area where the men were at and set up the dynamite. A few seconds later the hunters were yelling, trying to get out of the way of the explosions. They walked right into Chris’s line of fire and were mowed down. Vin saw one man try to take off in the opposite direction. In one smooth action, he lifted his rifle, aimed and shot the man in the side of the head. Chris grabbed Vin angrily by the upper arm and turned him to face him.  
“We don’t shoot people in the back.”  
“I do whatever it takes to keep my family safe. They don’t care which way we’re facing before they shoot us. Why should I care?” Vin pulled his hand away and started out again, looking for more hunters. Chris cursed under his breath but followed after him to give him cover.  
Buck reached the campsite and set JD down. JD circled around his legs, agitated. The tall man looked around and saw that most of the young Indian men were armed with bows and arrows to take on their enemies. Nathan emerged from a tent, looking frustrated.  
A bark made Buck look down to see that JD had moved away from his legs and was standing over at their small campsite. All of Ezra’s things were gone.  
“Hell.” Buck grunted as he walked with determined steps to the healer. “Where’s that fool at? Now’s not the time for him to be going off on his own.”  
“Buck, I ain’t happy about Ezra’s actions either, but you got to understand this is instinct for him to leave when there’s trouble.” Nathan said, trying to defend the other man. He was disappointed himself to see the southerner enter the tent a few minutes ago.  
“Mister Jackson, I’m sure you are aware of the impending danger?”  
“Yeah, sounds like things are about to get messy.”  
“Then we should depart before that happens.” Ezra said, gesturing towards the exit of the tent.  
Nathan frowned, “I ain’t leaving.”  
“Well you can’t stay. Nathan, these men will shoot you dead before giving you a chance to defend yourself. It hasn’t been that long since war has ended.”  
“Ezra, don’t try and persuade me to leave by using me as an excuse for you to run off.”  
“That wasn’t my intent—”  
“You can’t keep running all your life.”  
Ezra opened his mouth to say argue, but closed it again. He took off his hat and ran his fingers through his wavy hair before looking up at his friend again. After finding Nathan right after the war and becoming an unusual pair that rode alongside each other, he wasn’t planning on leaving him again. Nathan was the only friend he had in this world. The first time he ran out on the other man he wasn’t sure he’d be welcomed back, but he was. After repeating it several times and promising he wasn’t going to do it again, he was determined not to leave without him.  
“Please reconsider.”  
“Go on if you have to, but don’t expect me to follow.”  
Ezra placed his hat back on his head, tipping it towards his friend before slipping back out.

Buck heard the sounds of explosions and he looked in that direction. He could only hope that his friend and junior was alright. A scratching at his leg made him look down. JD was looking at him expectantly.  
“You’re right. I can’t be outdone by the others. Plus, Chris will kill me if I lost the gambler.” Buck grinned before running off to track the man down. Nathan decided he should stay behind in case he was needed.  
Buck tracked the gambler’s horse with little problem. That wasn’t what worried him. It was the footprints that were also following the trail that put him on his guard. JD followed him, nose to the ground, tracking the gambler’s scent.  
Ezra felt his senses heightened and he began to feel like a weight was pressed upon him in his saddle. Every noise seemed to be magnified and had his skin crawling. A snap of a twig made him draw his derringer and twisting in his saddle to face whoever it was. To his dismay, there were three of them.  
“I don’t suppose you’d let me go.” Ezra murmured.  
“What do we do with this one? He doesn’t look like the rest of them creatures. More like some gentleman. And he’s on a horse.”  
The men looked a little confused on what they should do.  
“He was coming from the direction of those creatures though. We gonna ignore that?” asked one of the men. He tried to approach Ezra with his gun drawn but Chaucer moved away.  
“Hey, you better control of your horse mister.”  
A growl had them turning around to see a small wolf leap at one of the men. Another werewolf came charging after it. The three men didn’t have enough time to react to the new threat before were killed. Ezra sat in his saddle, paralyzed. The little wolf sniffed at Chaucer’s legs, the bloody muzzle trying to smell Ezra’s foot.  
Buck looked around to make sure there were no immediate threats. When he was satisfied that there weren’t any, he turned to the man on the horse.  
“The hell were you thinking? This is not the time to be splitting up.”  
Ezra lowered his head in shame. “I apologize for having you come out in search of me.”  
Buck put his hands on his hips and smiled, “Well we were able to learn what makes JD change so I guess something good came out of all of this.”  
“Master Dunne?” Ezra frowned and then turned to look at the little wolf. “Is that you?”  
The werewolf pup wagged his tail and gave a happy bark.  
“Okay kid, time to change back into a boy. We need to start heading back to the others.”  
JD paced around in a circle and then sat down. His hind leg came up to scratch behind his ear. As his leg went back down, his form changed and he was a teenager again. Buck helped the unsteady boy up and then turned to Ezra who was speechless.  
“You coming Ezra, or do I have to hogtie you?” Buck said with a smile that said he probably would if necessary.  
Ezra turned his horse, and they made their way back to camp.

Chris and Vin came back with a half a dozen young betas. Some were injured and were directed to the tent Nathan was in. The blond looked around the camp in search of the others. He gave a low growl in irritation, but it passed when he caught the familiar scents. Buck came in with a naked JD and Ezra who was on his horse. JD ran back to the camp and stopped for Chris to check him for injuries before going to find his clothes. Buck nodded to his friend, saying he was alright. Chris glared at the gambler who kept his head down as he climbed down from his saddle. Buck stepped in between them.  
“He knows already.”  
Chris didn’t appreciate his friend stepping in front of him, but he allowed it and decided to cool off somewhere else.  
Ezra tethered his horse near a tree and decided to go look for the healer. He figured he should tell his friend that he was here still.  
Vin walked to the main tent to report what happened. They had managed to kill off all of their attackers. He wasn’t sure if there were more, but for now they were safe. Hopefully they wouldn’t need to leave anymore.  
The older betas were gathered with their alpha. Vin stepped into the tent with his head slightly bowed in respect.  
“Alpha, we were able to kill off our attackers. Maybe now it is unnecessary to leave our home.”  
“Just because you killed a dozen of their men, doesn’t mean they won’t come back.” Growled the dark skinned beta.  
Vin’s head shot up and he glared at the speaker, “I fight for my pack, like the others. What do you do here besides cower and talk of fleeing? What good will that do? All they need to do is give chase.”  
“Do not talk back to me boy!”  
“Enough.” Called the alpha, “A victory such as this should be celebrated. Why don’t you all see to the preparations. Our pack needs something to lift their spirits. I would like to talk to Dancing Eagle alone.”  
The older betas all bowed their heads before leaving the tent. Vin took a seat and waited.  
“Your heart is troubled, and your mind is busy.” The alpha noted.  
“I am just confused why the others would wish to run.” Vin said bitterly.  
“This does trouble you, but that is not what I was referring to.” Vin looked up in confusion. “These men you have found, you like them.”  
The young man shrugged, “They’re alright. I was only looking for someone to help fight. I’ve heard stories of the man in black and how he’s a great werewolf and fighter. Don’t get me wrong, he’s stubborn and a drunk…”  
“I knew that your time here was only temporary, and that you would find your true pack later down the line. It seems that you have finally found them.”  
“What are you talking about? They aren’t a pack. I mean JD and Buck are together and Nate and Ez are friends, but that’s it. Chris is gonna leave once this is over.”  
“Just because one chapter ends, doesn’t mean it’s the end of the story.”  
“So are you all really going to leave here?”  
“That path is no longer yours to worry over. You must be sure to keep what you have now, together.”


	10. The Wolf's Bane

Ezra and Nathan heard Buck’s voice well before they saw him appear at the entrance of the tent.  
“Nathan, we need your help. Chris was hit and I can’t get the bullet out.” Buck said breathless from having run to the tent.  
Nathan made sure he had the other invalids secure before grabbing his things and following the tall man.  
Chris was leaning against a tree looking for all the world to be sleeping, but once they got closer, they could hear the shallow breaths. Nathan knelt down next to the man and peeled the black jacket off and opened the shirt to get access to the spot.  
“What in the world could do something like this?” asked Nathan, grabbing his pliers.  
“Wolf’s Bane.” Chris said through gritted teeth.  
“Why didn’t you say you were injured before?” asked Vin, who had joined the others.  
“Didn’t ask.”  
“Wait, Wolf’s Bane. Isn’t that a flower?” asked Ezra in confusion.  
“It can be lethal to werewolves in high concentrations and dosages.” Buck explained.  
All three were standing at a safe distance while Ezra stood a little closer, trying to see. He felt nauseous for some reason.  
“You might want to keep back.” Vin suggested, “Even in close quarters can that stuff have an effect on us.”  
Ezra took a few steps back and watched as Nathan dug the bullet out. Chris grunted as he tried to keep the shouting and reeling back to a minimum. After it was out and taken away, Chris slumped back against his tree. All his body wanted to do was go to sleep, but he didn’t like to show weakness. That, and he had five pairs of concerned eyes staring down at him. Reaching for his bag to grab a bottle to numb the pain, he was stopped by his friend.  
“Just rest. I’ll be here when you wake up.” Buck reassured.  
Chris’s eyes didn’t remain open much longer before they shut and was taken into a healing sleep.  
Buck turned to the others, “Wounds like these won’t heal on their own. It’s going to keep on effecting him until we find a similar bullet and burn that same stuff.”  
Vin nodded and took JD with him in his search.  
“What does it look like?” asked Nathan, wanting to help too.  
“It’ll be different from the normal bullet. Homemade most likely. Take Ezra with you. He’ll be able to tell when you get close.”  
Nathan and Ezra nodded and went into the woods after the others. Buck repositioned Chris so that he was laying on his back. He was determined not to lose anyone else in his life.  
A small party went in search for the dead hunters’ gun belts. There was about nine of them by the time they had come back.  
Chris was growing pale and his skin began to feel clammy.  
Buck began to grow scared, “Chris? Chris!” he called, shaking his friend.  
The green eyes never appeared though.  
“He isn’t dead is he?” JD whispered from behind.  
Even Ezra was standing nearby, looking a little pale.  
Chris couldn’t be dead. It wasn’t possible.  
Chris was dead. He was sure of it. He couldn’t feel anything anymore. The pain was gone.   
It was nice not having to worry about anything. Not to have someone hunting him down or expecting anything of him.  
There was a calm that he hadn’t felt in years. Not since he had lost—  
Sarah! Adam!  
They had died in that fire three years ago when a mob of hunters came and burnt his house down with them locked inside. He had been running back to save them and he could hear their screams amongst the flames.  
It broke his heart and turned something off inside of him. None of those men who had taken part of murdering his family had walked away that night. Buck had been with him, but caught up after all the hunters were dead.  
“Chris.” Buck said warily as he walked up to his friend.  
The blond had shifted when he had been killing the hunters. Pieces of his clothes still hung on him and there was blood on his fur as well as the clothes.  
The wolf growled at Buck and the man stepped back away from his friend.  
“Easy, it’s me.”  
The wolf changed back into a human and Chris stood there with the rags nearly falling off.  
Buck hesitantly approached his friend.

The two worked to put out the fire and then collect the bodies and bury them.  
When Buck finished his silent prayer, he felt Chris grip him by his shirt.  
“This is all your fault!”  
“Chris please, calm down.”  
“You’re the one who wanted to go out tonight. If I had been here, then they’d still be alive. I’d still have my family.”  
“I’m sorry Chris, I’m sorry. Sarah was my friend too—”  
Chris pushed Buck away roughly, “You need to leave. Before I do something I might regret.”  
Buck felt a shiver down his spine and a pang of guilt and sadness that his oldest friend was now threatening to kill him.

Chris had later felt bad that he had pushed Buck away and the two had later found each other. Chris had taken to heavy drinking to drown out his sorrow.  
Buck no doubt noticed the change in his friend. The man wore black like it was a part of his skin. The fur of his wolf form was black now instead of the dark brown he had seen before. At first he thought it was from the ashes, but it never came off. His alpha had rejected him, rejected himself, and rejected human life. The day he last saw Chris before he left to be on his own, he saw that the blond’s eyes were no longer red but blue.  
‘I lost the only person I had left’ Chris thought to himself. Part of him wanted to tell Buck that he was grateful for him for sticking around.

Buck grabbed the top part of Chris’ unconscious body while Nathan got the lower half.   
“We need to hurry!” Buck yelled as Vin brought the gun belts to the fire that was being started.  
An older lady provided them with a bowl and the group began to sift through the bullets to find the ones with Wolf’s Bane inside.  
“Looking at each bullet doesn’t seem all that proficient.” Ezra sighed as he dropped the last one he was checking.  
“Well the only way we’re going to find the right bullet is if we do it.” Buck said after tossing the last bullet with no success.  
“Why’s that?”  
“Agh gosh damn it!” JD yelled as he brought his finger away as the skin slowly began to heal from the powder.  
“Don’t drop it pup!” Buck said as he grabbed the bullet carefully from the teen. “I’ll forget the language for now.”  
Buck poured the powder in the bowl.  
“That isn’t going to be nearly enough.” Nathan said as he kept going through the bullets that JD was looking at.  
After they had about six of them, Nathan burnt the powder, under Buck’s instructions, over the open fire.  
“What happens now?” Ezra asked as he looked to the still blond lying on a bed roll.  
“We put it on him.” Buck said as Nathan brought the searing contents over to the man.  
“What?!”  
The smell of burning powder on bleeding flesh made for a nauseating odor for all the werewolves present.  
The blond didn’t move at first but then it was like he snapped out of whatever coma state he was in and bolted up.  
His eyes turned blue and he growled in pain.  
“I need help holding him down so I can finish.” Nathan called.  
Vin and Buck helped, but after Chris was able to shake himself off of Vin, Ezra had to get involved.  
When he was up close he felt like throwing up. The smell of Wolf’s Bane made him feel weak and he didn’t know it he could continue to hold on much longer before he passed out.  
To his relief Nathan had finished with the last of the wolf’s bane and Chris dropped back down on the bed roll in a deep sleep.  
“Now what? He looks just as lifeless as before our hard endeavors.”  
“He should come around soon.”  
Chris’s skin soon regained color and the wound had healed itself. The rest of the group sat around their small camp fire, no one wiling to speak first.  
“So what happens now?” asked JD after the silence began to be too much for him.  
The others looked to Vin.  
“Well the committee has decided that the pack is leaving this area and are heading up north. They also say they are grateful for the help, but won’t be needing it anymore.”  
“Well that’s one way to show your gratitude.” Buck huffed. “Chris risked his life for those ungrateful old bags!”  
“I know, and you already know what I think.”   
“Then why do you side with them?” Buck snapped as he glared at the other man.  
“It wasn’t my decision. I don’t choose.”  
“I think Mister Tanner, that Mister Wilmington is talking about something else entirely.” Ezra said as he looked at both men, “He wants to know why you continue to stay with these people who obviously have no respect for you.”  
“They are pack!” Vin stated the obvious.  
Ezra got up to his feet and dusted off his clothes.  
“I may not be well-versed in what makes a pack, but shouldn’t there be a sense of unity? Your group has many young ones who obviously think they can do better than the older betas and your alpha.”  
“Don’t you talk about my family.” Vin snarled.  
“That’s another thing. Your family is made up of Indians and freed slaves. It’s no wonder that they haven’t given your opinions any consideration. You aren’t welcome in your own pack.”  
Vin looked taken aback by the other man’s words. He didn’t want to believe them, but there was the obvious way everyone treated him differently in his pack. He thought it had passed, but thinking about it, it was always there. He had just been ignoring the feeling. Now he understood why his alpha told him that this was not his true pack.  
Another lengthy silence took over and was only interrupted when Chris woke up. Buck rushed to his friend’s side.  
“You alright Chris?”  
“Feels like my body is on fire.” Chris grunted as he tried to sit up.  
“Take it easy.”  
Chris grabbed Buck by his shirt, he was still breathing heavy as he tried to steady himself.  
“I’m sorry.” He whispered into the man’s ear.  
Buck wrapped his arm around the man’s neck and pulled him in for a hug.  
“It’s alright. I know.”  
Vin looked over Buck’s shoulder. Words were caught in his throat. He only wished that Chris knew that he was grateful for what he did for him and his family.  
Chris turned to Vin, “Your family okay?”   
“Yeah.” Vin sighed and finally brought his eyes up to meet green ones, “The council decided that you don’t have to put yourself in danger anymore and that they can take care of ourselves.” He waited for Chris to say something, but after a while the man only laughed. “What’s so funny? They just threw you sacrifice back in your face.”  
“You think they’re the first person who has done that to me? I’m a bad element. A killer and lone wolf. People tend to die around me. I understand completely why they’d want me gone.”  
Chris dug into his bag and pulled out a bottle and drank some of its contents.  
Vin frowned, confused.  
At the beginning, he had only saw this man as a way to help his pack. The ones he swore to protect. Over the past couple of days, though most of the time was rough, he felt more welcomed in Chris’s company than the people he was supposed to love. The blond didn’t fear his temper or let him get away with things. Chris. Nathan. Ezra. Buck and JD. They all were people he cared about, and knew he could trust them with his life. He never had that complete assurance with his pack.

The following day Vin and his family left to continue their journey without Chris and his group. Although he knew what the alpha had said about this not being his path, he still went with them. They had left early in the morning when most of them were asleep, but JD had been awake.  
“Why are you going with them Vin?” JD said in less than a whisper.  
“They’re my family. My pack. You don’t understand what that means yet.”  
“I thought that was what we were to you. Chris and the others. We wouldn’t be the same   
without you.”  
“Sorry JD. I’m glad you found your pack and I’m proud you consider me one.”  
JD watched as the older boy left with his family.  
The others didn’t seem surprised which made him a little frustrated.  
“Why are we letting them take him away?” JD crossed his arms over his chest.  
“Because he made his own decision.” Buck sighed.

Chris slung his bag over his shoulder and turned to the others.  
“My job here is done. You all are free to do whatever.”  
“Wait, you’re leaving us too?” JD asked in astonishment.  
“I came only because Vin asked me to and there were women and children involved. Since he no   
longer needs my help, I’m going to go on my way.”  
“Not that I don’t find this great news to be able to leave on my own free will, but I am still in the dark of this whole new life I’ve been thrown into.” Ezra pointed out.  
“That’s right Chris, Ez here can use your help during his first transformation.”  
“I’m sure you’re more than a capable teacher Buck.”  
“Let’s not split up quite yet. Your wounds may have all healed, but there’s still the after effect   
the Wolf’s Bane. I know someone who can help Ezra here too. Provide a safe place for his first transformation.” Nathan offered.

“Well you all can do that. I’m fine on my own.” Chris murmured and began walking away.  
“I know you may not agree with us Chris, but it’s better if we stick together.”  
Chris sent a glare to the healer and then looked at the rest of the group.  
“No, you’re better off without me. Buck can take care of you all. He’s good at that.”  
“Hell Chris, I ain’t like you. I’m a lover not a fighter. Sure I’ll do my best to protect them, but I ain’t as strong as you.” Buck frowned.  
Chris didn’t say anything. He just walked away with his horse.  
“Well that was short lived.” Ezra murmured.  
Buck turned to Nathan once he no longer was able to see Chris, and it looked like the other man wasn’t going to turn around.  
“Where’s this guy who’s supposed to be able to help Ezra?”  
“About five days from here near the mountains.”  
“Excellent.” Buck gave a long sigh before taking the lead.

Josiah sat on a stone slab that made up his alter. He had been in pain for the last couple of days. Like his heart was being torn.  
Connections that had been made were being pulled apart. There was an imbalance that was temporarily there.  
He tried asking the spirits what was going on but they never responded. Somehow something was interfering with destiny.  
Looking down at the edge of the slab in front of him, he dabbed a couple of dots on the black wolf painting he had created two weeks ago. The eyes had been previously blue, but now he made them red.  
Beside the black wolf, there was a gray one, light brown one, auburn and a small gray with black spots. One crude painting of a black man stood next to the wolves holding two snakes that wrapped around a pole. To Josiah’s surprise, the spirits had added another, a big white man who held up a torch in front of the group.  
What did it all mean? Will it still come to pass with the separation of two of its members. The black wolf was leaving his pack behind, and the light brown wolf traveled with the wrong pack.  
The big man prayed that there would be an intercessor to help them find their way back together.


	11. The Prophecy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ages of characters so far:
> 
> Chris-33 Vin-23 Ezra-28 Nathan-30 Buck-31 JD-16 Josiah-41

Josiah had known from speaking with the spirits that he was going to be receiving visitors. It was important that he set them back on the path that they should be on. If they weren’t then they would surely all die.  
The group arrived towards the late afternoon. He had gone out to hunt for supper and came back to find four tired souls resting on his slab of stone that made up his alter.  
“Afternoon brothers. I see that you have all made it here safely. Come and rest. Food will be ready in thirty minutes.” He smiled down at them.  
“Josiah. It’s always good to see you. Though you could’ve made it easier to find you if you weren’t hiding in the mountains.” Nathan grinned as he shook his friend’s hand.  
“I came up here to be closer to the spirits. They have been talking a lot recently.”  
“More of your end of the world ordeal?”  
“Not quite.” Josiah said as he looked at his other three guest.  
“My name is Josiah Sanchez. I’m an oracle. I speak to the spirits and they sometimes whisper things to me.”  
“Like what?” JD asked curiously.  
“Names. Dates. Numbers. Things that must happen in order for something to come to pass.”  
“Can you tell me something about me?” the teen asked excitedly.  
“I cannot tell your future without telling the others futures as well. For your destinies line up together.”  
“Well I’m not really interested in your prophecies, thank you very much. I’m only here because Mister Jackson says you can help me with my first transformation.” Ezra said sharply. Knowing about his future would only inhibit things.  
Josiah turned an interested eye to the shorter man and walked up to him. He spoke in a low voice next to his ear.  
“It will not be long before the lone alpha comes to take you. During that time, you will suffer greatly.”  
Ezra bristled. He tried to pull his eyes away from the older man, but he couldn’t help looking in his eyes to see if he was telling the truth. The man spoke with absolute which scared the gambler.  
“I’ll start cooking then.” Josiah smiled at the rest of the small group, leaving Ezra shaken.  
After eating and the werewolves all went down to sleep, Nathan went to go find his friend. He found the big man seated on the stone slab.  
“They’re in trouble Nathan. You all are. The balance has been shifted.” Josiah said before he even saw Nathan sit down next to him.  
“You mean Vin and Chris.” Nathan nodded.  
One of the oracle’s big hands ran a big hand along the painted pictures.  
“Imagine these paintings make up one body. The alpha is the head.” He pointed to the black wolf, “The gray is the heart and the little gray and black is the spirit.” He pointed to the two gray wolves. “The light brown makes the hands and the auburn makes the feet.” Nathan nodded. “If there is no head to direct. If there are no hands to defend. Then the feet will waver even if the heart and spirit is still there.”  
“So since we lost Chris and Vin then we’re going to lose Ezra too?” Nathan asked, figuring the auburn to be the gambler.  
“It is inevitable.” Josiah sighed. He pointed to a big black beast at the corner of the slab with the auburn wolf in his mouth. “Your friend will be lost before all is over and will have a new master. He will be forced to turn against you.”  
“But we already lost Chris and Vin. They’re long gone. How are we supposed to find them before this happens?”  
“You won’t.”  
“So we’re just supposed to sit back and watch Ezra get taken!”  
Josiah rested a hand on Nathan’s shoulder.  
“Do not worry about Ezra. What happens will happen with him. You must focus on finding Vin.”  
“You mean finding Chris right? The one who’s the alpha.”  
“Vin is the one who can get Chris back. He will be able to find him.”  
“Okay, so where can we find Vin? Is there like a certain place we can start looking for him?”  
“I believe you need to follow your heart for that brother.” Josiah smiled.  
“Heart, you mean Buck.” Nathan sighed. “Well can you at least take care of Ezra until after his first full moon.”  
“I’ll do my best.” Josiah said even though he knew what the future held. It was not his place to change it.

 

Nathan woke up early the next day with Buck. The two of them were to set out to look for Vin and his pack. JD was to stay with Ezra and Josiah. No one knew exactly what happened when the teen changed on a full moon so they decided to play it safe.  
“So your friend Josiah. He told you that I would be the one to help you find Vin.” Buck said as he walked alongside Nathan and his horse.  
“Yeah he wasn’t very clear on how, but that’s about it.”  
“How am I supposed to do that? I’m not a tracker in any way. I’m the guardian figure of Chris’s old pack.”  
“You were also his beta right?”  
Buck sighed, “That doesn’t really mean that I’d be able to find another beta.”  
“But you know his scent. Unlike the others, you know a bit more about how to use your abilities.”  
“I guess you got me there.” The man gave a huge grin before it disappeared and he became serious again, “Why is it that Vin would be more capable in finding Chris and not me? I’ve known the man longer.”  
“Tanner is traveling with a pack, they’ll be moving slower and will be easier to find. Vin is a born tracker and his hotheadedness speaks to Chris. More so than your stubbornness.”  
“Hey, my stubbornness kept Chris alive all these years.”  
Nathan nodded, “That maybe but right now we need to find him first. We might need your stubbornness for later.”  
“You think Vin is going to come and help us find Chris?”  
“I don’t know really, but we don’t have many choices right now.”  
“You believe what that oracle said don’t you.”  
“That, and what else he said.”  
“What else did he say?”  
“If we don’t get Vin and find Chris then Ezra will fall into the hands of the lone alpha and we’ll all die. Our destinies are intertwined somehow.”  
“Well that’s wonderful.” Buck grunted before picking up the pace, “Then we best find Chris quickly.”

 

Chris climbed his way to the top of the trail with his horse following dutifully behind him. He looked behind him to see down the winding path he had traveled already. The sun was beginning its descent over the distant mountain range. Pushing his hearing, he listened to the sounds of animals bedding down for the night while nocturnal animals began to wake up. Part of him thought he should be getting ready for bed too. However, the inviting darkness made him want to go for a run in his other form.  
After making sure his horse would be alright and hid his saddle and bags, he slowly got undressed. Storing the clothes with the rest of his things, he shifted into his wolf form. Chris stretched his limbs and trotted into the forest in search of something for dinner. He needed to feel his blood pumping again. To feel his claws digging into the dirt as he crossed the forest floor. Running through the forest, he caught the scent of a deer nearby and slowed down. The one thing he enjoyed more than the chase was the element of surprise. Crouching down in the tall grass, he sized up the stag and checked his surroundings. Taking a few steps forward, he made the mistake of stepping on a branch. The noise made the stag look up in Chris’s direction. The animal darted away and Chris gave chase. He could feel his heart pumping hard to provide oxygen to his lungs, the muscles flexing as he jumped over fallen trees and landed gracefully on the other side. The loud breathing of the stag just in front of him made him excited. His front legs caught the hind legs of the animal, bringing it down. Chris kept his grip on the animal as the stag tried to free itself. Chris didn’t’ know what was keeping him from killing the thing. The old him wouldn’t have hesitated to kill it, but for some reason he was now. It was annoying to him and he let out a growl before letting it go. The animal struggled to its feet before getting up and running off in the woods. Chris paced back and forth, frustrated with his indecision to kill the animal. Now what would he eat?  
The wolf was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn’t detect the danger until it was too late. The shot hit him in his back leg and he growled in pain. His nocturnal vision saw four men coming towards him, he saw the guns they were carrying were trained on him. Chris darted into the woods, hoping for the cover of the growing darkness to hide him. He needed to find his horse before he lost consciousness. This wasn’t a normal bullet. How was he so unlucky to get shot by two Wolf’s Bane bullets within 48 hours? That thought made him think about how off his game he was.


	12. The Rescue

Vin sat at one of the campfires and stared into the flames. Not being able to sleep, he volunteered to be on guard duty. An hour passed in silence besides the sounds of snoring and the crackling of the flames. Throwing in another log, Vin looked up in surprise to see the alpha was coming to join him.  
Vin dropped his gaze back to the fire.  
“I know what you’re going to say; why I didn’t go with the others?”  
The old man smiled as he dropped down on other side of the fire, “If you know my question then why are you still fighting the truth of the answer?”  
“Those men aren’t a pack. They’re the mix of oil and water. Opposites that have no business being together. I was surprised that they haven’t killed each other.”  
“Opposites attract and contribute their differences to make something amazing. You are good at looking pass superficial things like appearances, so why is this keeping you back now? The Vin Tanner I took in years ago would never back down.” Vin chuckled a little. “You need to start going on your own path. These men and you, I see that your paths are intertwined with each other.”  
Vin wanted to wanted to find some reason not to go but he didn’t have one.  
A scout called that someone was approaching and Vin got to his feet and was followed at a slower pace by the alpha. The scouts were escorting two men into the camp. Vin recognized them in the dark and walked quickly over to them.  
“What are you doing here?” he asked.  
Nathan climbed off of his horse and held onto the reins, “Good to see you too.”  
“We need your help to find Chris. It’s apparently the only way to save Ezra.” Buck spoke up.  
“Wait, what? What happened to Ezra?”  
“It’s a little less complicated then what he makes it out to be, but we do need your help.”  
“What is it?”  
“When Chris left, we continued to an old friend of mine. He’s an oracle and he spoke about your lives all being intertwined. He also said that we need to get you to help us persuade Chris to come back to save Ezra who will be taken by the alpha who turned him.”  
Vin turned to his alpha who smiled and nodded, “Go and find your alpha, Vin Tanner.”  
Nodding, Vin looked back to the other two men, “What are we waiting for then?”

MMMMMMMMMMMMMM

 

Chris jerked himself awake and realized that he had fallen asleep. His body was covered in sweat as he tried to sit up. He had found a small cave and was hidden in the shadows. The feeling of being cornered made him growl a little, but he stopped so as not to get caught. He was able to find his horse, but decided to grab his things and hide instead. Chris hoped that his horse would not get caught by the hunters and would be able to make it to Buck.   
Shivering a bit, Chris looked at the gaping wound in his leg. It was growing worse and made dark lines around the area. He hadn’t recovered 24 hours before his last encounter with the poison and his body was not up to its full strength. Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself before using his claws to dig out the bullet. Letting out a groan, he dropped the bullet with slack fingers and slipped back into unconsciousness.  
Vin was now wearing his buckskin again and riding on the back of a horse that his old alpha gave to him as a parting gift. Peso was his favorite horse, the stubborn was familiar with mountains which gave him a huge advantage. He had been concentrating his eyes and nose to help him pick up Chris’s scent and trail. Buck and Nathan followed silently behind him, respecting he needed silence to concentrate. Nathan was anxious to find the other man so they could be on their way back to Josiah’s he didn’t like leaving them up there alone. Though he didn’t doubt that his friend would do his best to protect them, he felt better with them all together.   
Vin stopped his horse which made the others stop.  
“You caught his scent?” asked Buck. He wasn’t smelling anything yet, but the younger man had a wider range than him.  
“Him and someone else.” Vin said and then let out a growl.  
Buck and Nathan were now alert. Someone was following the other man. Vin urged his horse to go faster and the others followed, keeping an eye out for danger.  
Nathan was amazed at how Vin could pick up a scent from a day ago, but the young werewolf had been trained to do exactly that. He was a tracker in every sense of the word. He glanced down at Buck who was on high alert. The man looked completely different when he wasn’t goofing off and entertaining JD. He actually looked dangerous now. It made him remember that he was with a bunch of werewolves, creatures of the dark which were considered dangerous. Killers that wouldn’t hesitate to kill him. However, he felt safer with them then he did with the other humans.  
The tracker hoped off of his horse and began to go on foot. The young man reached the side of the hill and used his claws to start climbing his way up. Buck went after him. Nathan took a little bit longer to climb after them. Vin reached the top and found what he had smelled. The black stallion that belonged to Chris was walking towards him. The animal recognized the familiar man and approached him.  
Buck waited until Nathan was close enough to the top to help him over the side.  
“Do you think you can trace where the horse had been?” asked Buck.  
“Shouldn’t be a problem.” Vin said as he patted the side of the horse and began retracing the animal’s steps.

 

Chris woke up again to the sounds of footsteps drawing closer to his cave. He pressed himself further into the corner, holding his colt up to the entrance. From what he could tell, that the men outside were the hunters who had shot him.  
How many of these bastards are in this area?   
Chris let out a stifled groan when he shifted his leg and aggravated the wound.  
“Check the cave.” Said a detached voice. A few footsteps later had a person peering inside.  
Chris held his breath, if he started shooting in a place where he’s pinned down in, more likely then not he’d be killed. Unless they found him, he’d stay quiet.  
“It’s too dark to see anything.” Said the man who was trying to look inside.  
A couple minutes later the person returned with a torch. Chris bristled at seeing the flames dance around the branch. Part of him wanted to back away from the dangerous light and the other part of him wanted to kill the man holding it. When the light was casted over him, the man didn’t have time to alert his comrades before Pulled him in and smothered him. The man dropped his torch and tried to get the strong hands away from his face. Chris snapped his neck and dropped the body on the ground away from him. The torch he threw dirt over it to put it out.  
“Clark? Clark, what’s going on in there?” came the voice again. The sound of a hammer being drawn back and then another had Chris on guard. They would fire first before coming inside, trying to injure him before entering. Dragging the dead body over himself, Chris flinched slightly as he heard the sound of bullets firing around. A few bullets hit the dead body that was giving him cover. His bare skin was sprinkled in the person’s blood as the projectiles stopped flying. A person came into the cave with a torch and pulled the dead body off of him. Chris laid as still as possible, hoping that they’d think he was dead. A boot stepped on his injury and he couldn’t help the groan that escaped his lips and he tried to turn around and claw at the offending limb. A butt of a rifle connected with the side of his head and he was knocked unconscious.

 

“What’s taking you so long? I thought you said it’d be easy tracking now.” Buck said in agitation. He needed to find his friend to ease his nerves.  
“Calm down, Vin knows what he’s doing.” Nathan assured.  
“Are you sure, because I know Chris’s scent and I now that he said we’re getting closer, I can pick things up.”  
“It’s Vin’s job to find Chris, not yours.”  
Buck rolled his eyes, but continued to follow.  
“Got something.” Vin said as he dropped to his knees and looked at something intently. Buck and Nathan stood over his shoulder.  
“Blood.” Buck whispered.  
“Chris’s?” asked Nathan.  
The two werewolves nodded.   
Vin pointed in a direction, “Looks like he was injured and making his way through here.”  
The small search party began moving again, moving with renewed energy.   
“He’s sick.” Buck said suddenly, “I can smell it.”  
“His scent definitely smells different from its usual musky smell.” Vin nodded.  
Buck chuckled at that, “Don’t let him hear you say that. You don’t smell that much better. Like something died on you.”  
Vin threw back a glare before concentrating again on following the scent. They were getting close.  
“I hear something up ahead.” Buck huffed as they went along.  
Vin took up a sniper’s position while Buck and Nathan crept closer. It looked like three men were standing at the mouth of a small cave looking in.   
“I smell Chris in there.” Buck shared with Nathan.  
“Let’s get him out then.”  
Vin’s sawed off rifle was heard from behind and one of the men fell to the ground. The other two turned just in time for Buck to take him while Nathan used his knife throwing skills to take out the other. Once they secured the area, Buck went into the cave, he made sure as not to move too fast.   
“Chris? You in here, old dog?” Buck spotted a body on the ground and beyond that another body that looked pretty pale. “Hell, Nathan! I need you in here.”  
Nathan ran inside and dropped down beside the other man. Vin soon came in and tried to get close.  
“The hell do they get so much of this Wolf’s Bane?” Nathan grunted as he started his work.  
“Once the hunters found out the stuff weakens us, they’ve been growing this stuff like crazy.” Buck said gruffly as he went through bullets to find more of the stuff to burn.  
“He’s been sick for hours. He might not bounce back as quickly.” Nathan said as he watched Vin silently build a fire.   
“We can put him on his horse and bring him back to the others. We need to get back to them soon.” Buck said as he handed the correct bullets to the healer. Nathan set out to work while the others stayed back from smelling range. Once Chris’s wound was seen to, Nathan covered him up and Buck and him took a side and carried him out of the cave. Vin followed with the rest of Chris’s things.


	13. The Kidnapping

“No!” he shouted as he sat up in bed and looked around breathlessly.  
“Something wrong Ezra?” asked JD, yawning and rubbing his eyes. He was in the bed adjacent to Standish’s.  
“I—I don’t know. I just had this feeling that something was wrong. That Mister Larabee was in danger. Injured.” Ezra ran his hand through his hair to tame it a bit. Wincing, he withdrew his hand and saw that his fingernails had become claws.  
JD shifted in his bed till he was sitting on the edge, “Don’t worry, I have the same problem with controlling shifts. Most of the time I just shift completely, but on occasion it can just be your eyes or fangs coming out when your emotions are heightened.”  
“I refrain from getting emotional, JD.”  
“No, you feel things like everyone else. You’re just better at hiding it.” JD said, shaking his head, “But you can’t lie to your body. It’s probably sensing Chris is in trouble and you’re worried. Emotional connections with another werewolf can be the signs of a bond forming. Your other self probably has taken Chris as a pack member and possibly alpha.”  
“I thought I was only connected to the alpha who changed me. Also it is impossible for me to have any connections with Mister Larabee because he is not an alpha.”  
“Buck told me that once was an alpha. That and he still has the potential to become one again. He said he saw Chris’s eyes flicker red a couple of times.”  
Ezra sighed, wishing something could be easy for once.  
Dropping back down on the bed, Standish tried to find sleep again. His nose picked up a familiar scent and he felt a shiver run down his spine. JD also seemed agitated. Ezra looked over to the teen. If the boy was in his wolf form, the hairs would be standing on end. The door was smashed open and a huge wolf moved through the new entrance. He snarled at JD who withdrew into a corner in fear. Ezra sat frozen in his place as the piercing red eyes turned to him. Suddenly, Ezra felt excruciating pain. He screamed as his mind was assaulted. His claws and fangs emerged on their own and tears streamed down his face. His eyes turned a bright gold.  
Josiah heard screams from the house and he raced back up the path. He reached the entrance, breathless, looking around for his charges. There were traces of a struggle but both Ezra and JD were gone.  
“Good lord, they were both taken.”  
He searched for signs of which direction they might have been taken, but for some reason he hesitated on what to do next.  
Josiah wasn’t sure what to do, or more importantly, if he should do something. Being an Oracle, he wasn’t supposed to interfere with a prophecy. However, things all went to shit when the young werewolf was taken along with Ezra.  
Since it was already broken, it was only right to fix it correct?  
Josiah looked at the slab of stone and at the five werewolves and then the other two human forms.  
What were the spirits telling him that he wasn’t understanding?  
Deciding he needed a drink he went back into his little cabin and pulled a bottle of whiskey from a cabinet. After taking a long drink, his eyes drifted to the rifle sitting in the corner. It told him to pick it up. To go help the others.  
“No.” he grumbled to himself. “I’m done with that life.”  
Walking back out where the sun was setting, he could only imagine what the others were going through and how he was only sitting there on his mountain, safe.  
“Hell to the spirits if they allow this to happen.”  
Tossing his bottle to the ground where it landed with a thud in tall grass, he took a running leap off the side of the cliff.  
A minute passed before a gray owl came back up, and made its way over the tree tops in search for Nathan and the others.

 

Ezra groaned when he came to. Nothing looked familiar, and he tried to recall what happened. The alpha had come. He was taken and—  
“JD!”   
He looked around and was relieved when he found JD in a ball. He had a nice size gash in his side that looked like teeth marks. Ezra shuddered and went to help the teen.  
“Hey, you doing alright there JD?”  
“We’re gonna die.” JD whimpered.  
Ezra shivered at those words and tried to think of something to do. Looking around, it looked like he was in a mine. A growl in the distance had him shifting away in fear. From the dim light provided from a torch, Ezra could see something approach. A man about six and four inches stood there looking rugged and caked in dirt. He wasn’t wearing any clothes and the sneer he wore showed discolored teeth.  
“You’re the alpha, I presume.” Ezra managed to say in an even tone that even he was surprised.  
“How nice of you to have receive my invitation.”  
“Well seeing how there was no room for refusal.” Ezra said with a glare.  
The man walked closer and sat down on a stack of rubble. “Now that’s no way to talk to your alpha. You shall be my beta, and this little runt will join us. I really wanted the big guy, but taking my chances with him could prove fatal.”  
“You would’ve never gotten JD away from Mister Wilmington. He would’ve died before given him up.”  
“Are you talking about the tall beta? No, I’m not looking for a guardian beta. More like a warrior.”  
“You mean Chris.” Ezra said, realizing the target.  
“The man is a natural beast. Though he was tamed for several years, give him one tragedy and he dives back into the world of killing with renewed enthusiasm.” Grinned the alpha.  
Ezra frowned, “That information about his family’s death is not that well-known I’m sure.”  
“Well, you would’ve had to have been there, that or order the killings.”  
“You ordered the deaths of the Larabee family?”  
“I am only a knight in the chain of command. For my role in all of this, I was supposed to be given my own pack. Larabee whoever killed them all. I went years running away from hunters. Now, I’m back to start over and to get into the good graces of my old employer, give them Larabee.”  
Ezra bristled, “Then why attack me? Why ruin my life?”  
“Didn’t you hear me? I need soldiers. Grunts to do the dirty work.”  
“You obviously have made a mistake because I don’t do work.” Ezra shook his head, “And I certainly won’t do anything that has to do with Mister Larabee.”  
“I don’t think you understand how this goes. You were created by me. You will do as I say. Larabee is—” the alpha stopped his rant and stood to his feet, taking a few steps towards Ezra and JD. Ezra drew back, keeping the teen close to him. The alpha smelled the air and let out a growl, “You tried bonding with Larabee?”  
“He isn’t even an alpha, I don’t know why people keep on assuming I am.”  
The alpha growled and turned away, “He’s coming back online.” He slammed his fist into the stone wall before spinning back to face Ezra, “I guess I’ll have to break the bond then.”


	14. The Change in Prophecy

Chris woke up and immediately wanted to throw up. He slowly sat up on his horse and saw the back of Nathan and then Vin. He felt a hand touch his leg and he looked down to see Buck smiling back up at him.  
“Glad to see you awake there, buddy.”  
“What happened?” he croaked.  
“We found you cornered in a small cave. Killed the hunters and got the Wolf’s Bane out of your system, but you’ll need to take it easy until we reach the others. Before you say anything about not wanting to be around us, you need to listen to what Nate’s got to say.” Buck said before Chris could start his complaints.  
Nathan looked back at them and sighed, “A friend of mine is an Oracle. He was told that all our fates are tied together. Whether you like it or not, I think we’re a pack and you’re the alpha, Chris.”  
“My old alpha said something of the same thing.” Vin added.  
“We were sent by my friend to find Vin and you so we can save Ezra from the alpha who turned him.” Nathan finished.  
Chris frowned, “Ezra was taken?”  
“No, we have him staying with my friend and JD. They should be safe there until we get back.”  
Chris only groaned as he shifted in the saddle, “Then why are we moving in this snail’s pace? Let’s ride.”  
Buck and Nathan shook their heads in exasperation before picking up the pace. Vin fell back to ride alongside the blond.  
“You alright to fight, because it’s probably going to come to blows before all of this is over.”  
“Don’t worry about me.”

They rode for about hour with Nathan up front leading the way. A call from Vin had them pulling to a stop. The horses were breathing heavy as they paced, ready to keep going.  
“What is it?” asked the healer.  
Vin had his head pointed up as he sniffed the air. Buck and Chris did the same and caught it too.  
“The alpha was around here.” Chris confirmed.  
“We’re only about five miles out from Josiah’s place. You don’t think it as there do you?” asked Nathan worriedly.  
“Would be a huge coincidence for him being around this area if not.” Buck frowned. “Do you think you can track which direction it went?” he asked Chris and Vin, knowing they were superior in tracking.  
Chris only nodded and spurred his horse forward in the direction the scent of the alpha and the others were in. The others followed behind. Buck, who had been running alongside Nathan began to slow, it felt like his heart was ripped out and he grabbed at his chest.  
“Stop! Hold up, something’s wrong with Buck.” Nathan called to the others.  
Chris looked annoyed at having to stop, his horse was as restless as the rider.   
“Buck, what’s wrong?” asked Nathan, wondering if this was something he could help with.  
“JD,” Buck looked up at the healer, “I smell JD. His scent is mixed with the alpha’s.”  
“It took Ezra and JD?” Vin growled, he had recognized the scent of the youngest as well as Ezra’s.  
Chris also was growling in his saddle. Their pack members were split up and in harm’s way. The pain Buck was feeling in the pup’s absence was sending the rest over the edge. Nathan wondered what he could do and then caught sight of something from overhead. A bird crossed the sky and alighted on a branch in a tree a few yards away. It was a gray owl, wise old eyes staring down at the troubled group. Unfurling its wings again, the owl swooped down and approached them. Just before it landed, it shifted into the human form of Josiah.  
“Josiah.” Nathan exclaimed, too preoccupied with worry for the missing werewolves to ask about his ability to change into a bird, “What happened to the others?”  
“I went out for a hunt and heard the sounds from the house. I ran back as fast as I could but they were gone. I’m sorry for losing your pack members.” Josiah said, bowing his head in respect to Chris.  
“Do you know which direction they were taken in? I’m starting to lose the connection I first felt with Standish.” Said the blond.  
“I saw the path they took. The alpha is trying to sever the bond you have with him. Once that is done, he will try to invoke the sire to control him.” Josiah explained.  
“Lead the way.” Chris nodded.  
Josiah transformed once again and flew off, the others kept up as he took them deeper into the woods.  
Nathan couldn’t help wondering if everyone he knew was a part of all of this. He was aware that being an oracle was considered dark arts and indirectly tied to creatures of the dark like werewolves. Part of him wondered if the reason he had found these people or was going along with them was because he was just like them in a sense. A better comparison would be to say he was like Josiah. Although he couldn’t transform like his friend. After knowing the man for five years, he was still finding things about the older man. Nathan couldn’t fault him for not telling him, he still never told anyone about his true heritage. It made him wonder if he should in fact tell the others. Not right now though, things were too serious with the kidnappings. He just hoped it wasn’t too late for the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So I'm going to go ahead and dedicate this chapter to my prof S---- who sadly passed away today. Didn't know I even wrote, only said 'have a good day' and 'have a good weekend' He was nice though and I will remember him always.


	15. The Sire Bond

Ezra felt limp as he lay on the ground with a gash in his neck. JD was trying hard to wake him up.  
“Ezra! Please wake up.”   
The gambler removed the hands that were wrinkling his clothes, though that hardly mattered now that his clothes were covered in dirt and dried blood.  
“I’m awake JD, there’s no need to cause further affliction on my person.” Ezra grunted as he tried to sit up and failed. JD helped him to find a wall to prop himself up.  
“Where’s the alpha?”  
“He’s gone out.”  
“Well, why don’t we take the opportunity to emancipate ourselves while he is detained elsewhere.”  
“Huh?” JD frowned and wrinkled his nose a little.  
“We’re going to try and escape.”  
“Is that safe? You aren’t really at full strength and I won’t be of much use to you.”  
“Just help me up and I should be fine.”  
JD scrambled to his feet and then helped to pull the other man up. Ezra swayed on his feet when he was standing, but held onto a wooden beam to kept himself from falling on his butt. JD held onto one of his arms and led him to the exit of the mine. Their journey was slow moving because they had to stop in order to keep Ezra from passing out and collapsing. When they made it to the entrance of the mine, they saw that the sky was just beginning to show color as the sun rose through the trees.  
“I bet the others are worried we went missing.” JD whispered.  
“I apologize you were brought into all of this.”  
“What are you talking about? I’d feel worse if you were taken alone. We’re pack, we have to stick together.”  
“JD, I don’t wish to disappoint you, but I don’t think there is one. Sure you and Mister Wilmington are together, but the rest of us are just passing through. Tanner is back with his old pack and Larabee is probably half way to California by now. Nathan will probably find some place to settle down and continue healing folks.”  
“What about you?”  
“If I survive this and get away from this crazed alpha, I will hightail it to Saint Louis.” Ezra saw the down-casted look the boy was sporting, “I’m sorry.”  
“But wouldn’t you want to stay? If we were all together? If Chris was alpha? Would you stay then?”  
“I’m afraid I’m not anyone’s first or last pick when it comes to having my company around for too long. I tend to overstay my welcome most of the time.”  
“That’s a load of crap. No one thinks of you that way.”  
Ezra only chuckled which made him groan when the action aggravated his wound.  
JD stopped moving which made Ezra stop too. “Never fear JD, I’m not planning on blacking out again anytime soon.”  
“No, it’s—don’t you smell that?”  
“I smell a bouquet of scents that I wish I was able to forget.” Ezra grimaced.  
“I smell Chris.”  
“You’re certain it’s him?”  
“Yeah. It’s really faint. Smelling is the only thing that I’ve been able to master besides hearing.” JD smiled confidently.  
“Then lead the way.”  
The two continued their walk at a grueling pace. Neither were aware of the red eyes tracking their moves from afar.  
JD stopped after a while and frowned.  
“What is it?” asked the gambler.  
“The scent is gone.” JD said as he tried sniffing the air again.  
“What? Are you sure? How can it go away?”  
“I mean it just ends here.” JD slipped from under Ezra and bent down to retrieve something in the bushes. It was the dark hat Chris wore.  
“So he isn’t nearby then.” Ezra visibly slumped.  
“Maybe he still is. He may have lost it and will come back for it.” JD said, hopeful. A howl made the pair look up and around. “Buck.”  
“Are you sure this time?”  
“I know what Buck sounds like. It doesn’t sound like he’s extremely far away.”  
“Can you send a call or something to let him know where we are?”  
“Good idea.”  
JD tilted his head back and let out a howl. It wasn’t as deep sounding as the one it followed, Soon JD’s howl was answered by Buck it sounded like. That and two more voices joined in.   
“Chris and Vin.” JD said with a grin to Ezra. “They’re coming for us.”  
“Let’s just see if we can meet them.” Ezra said, trying to move in the direction he heard the howling from.

For a half an hour, they walked and Ezra was growing tired.  
“We’re almost there.” JD said, beginning to smell the others more now.  
Ezra was about to answer when he suddenly stopped and groaned in pain. JD turned to his companion in worry.  
“Ez? You alright?”  
A low growl answered him and the gambler looked up with gold eyes and fangs dripping with saliva. Ezra growled at JD, stepping closer to the scared teen.  
“Ezra? It’s me, JD. We’re pack remember?”  
It didn’t seem like his words were getting through to the other man, and in the distance, he saw the strange alpha lurking in the back ground. JD turned tail and ran through the forest. A mindless Ezra chasing. JD shoved low branches out of his way as he brushed quickly by. His heart was pound in his chest, not fully able to do anything but run. He knew he should be trying to head towards the others, but fear over took him. He had been running for about five minutes, hearing heavy breathing behind him when he felt himself change form. Dropping on all fours, JD didn’t miss a step as he slipped from his clothes and darted through the trees in a zig zag pattern to heighten his chance of escape. A howl close by had him turning towards it. Almost as soon as he saw the others, Chris was off of his horse and transforming. Buck already had his claws and fangs out like Vin. Nathan had his gun out, but was hesitant to aim it at his friend.   
Chris collided with Ezra the two of them struggling on the ground. For not having any experiences with being a werewolf and fighting, Ezra was keeping up with Chris. Buck stood protectively over his pup while Vin stood between the two fighting and the alpha who was watching from afar.  
Chris dodged the snapping jaws of Ezra as he tried to get to his jugular. Even with the injuries Chris was dealing him, it was like the gambler’s pain level’s had been turned off. It was when Chris finally had Ezra’s neck in his jaws and pinned down, did the new werewolf sense the danger. One move could have Chris kill him. The slight nip he felt was all before a dry tongue ran over the side of his face. Ezra felt the energy drain from him and he turned back to fully human. He looked up into the eyes of the black wolf with tired green eyes.  
“I’m sorry.” He said softly.   
The furry head dropped down next to Ezra’s and he lifted his hand to run a hand through the soft fur. After a while, he gathered enough strength to grab a fist full of the hair and Chris backed up so he could help the gambler to his feet. Nathan jumped off of his horse and hesitantly approached the pair. He waited till the wolf bowed his head slightly in acceptance before taking a look at Ezra. The man had multiple wounds which he had sustained from Chris, none of them fatal. Chris stretched himself on the ground and Ezra laid on his side like he did so many days ago it felt like. JD approached his alpha and was nipped slightly on the neck and pulled in by a large paw to be inspected. A long tongue began cleaning the top of the little wolf pup’s head while JD sat enjoying the comfort. Buck plopped himself next to the group and ran a hand through JD’s fur. Vin, after making sure the alpha had retreated, joined his alpha’s side. Josiah hung back, allowing the group time to spend some time in their newly forming bond. When the alpha looked up at him, he saw the invitation and stepped forward. He bowed his head in respects to the new alpha. Red eyes stared back at him.   
“Alpha.” Josiah said in reverence, “My alpha.”


	16. The Conclusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So if you've been reading this so far... Well I went back and rewrote the entire story. So sorry, but the way it was going I was having a hard time tying things up. I will introduce the characters I did have in here later. I promise it's worth rereading.

About a week later things were finally starting to go back to normal for the newly formed Larabee pack. Chris led the way on his black stallion while six other horse trailed after him. Vin and Buck flanked either side of him. JD was in the middle with Josiah and Nathan and Ezra took up the rear together. They had stayed mostly at Josiah’s place to finish establishing the bond and for everyone to heal. Chris had to take a few more days before he was finally back to full strength from the poison.   
“Chris? Where do we go now?” asked JD. After hearing what Ezra had told him about the lone alpha that boasted about being the pack leader of those responsible, Chris looked ready to do a little hunting himself. However, Standish added that the alpha had said that he wasn’t the one who ordered the killing. That he was only part of something bigger.  
“For now we wait and go on living until ugly shows its face again.” Chris said gruffly. He really did hate to have to wait, but he would, for now. With having a pack to lead, he had something to lose again, and he would be damned if he lost another family.  
The seven rode into the town of Four Corners. The place was as lawless as when some of them were there last. An old man was standing in the middle of the street with a sawed of coach gun pointed to three men. They were all human. Chris only had to look at his pack members before they spread themselves out. Getting off of his horse, he walked slowly up next to the old man and sent a glare to the three men. He could smell blood just behind them and the gun in the younger man’s holster was recently fired.  
“You stay out of this cowboy, this ain’t your fight!” hissed the man.  
“Did he just call me a cowboy, JD?” Chris asked with a deadly smile playing at the corner of his mouth.  
“I believe he did.” JD said, shifting his weight to the other foot.  
“At least once.” Ezra said, shaking his head and dusting himself off from the trail dirt that accumulated on his jacket.  
“Did you just call me a cowboy?” Chris asked the man.  
“I was just saying that this ain’t your fight.” Corrected the man, feeling ill at ease.  
“Not yet.” Chris said, letting out a low growl and letting his eyes go red.  
The man backed up a little and then turned to see the other six. All around him and his friends, he now noticed were creatures of the dark. That, and he apparently insulted the alpha. He swallowed the lump in his throat.  
“Drop your gun belt.” Repeated the old man. For now, the man wasn’t going to question why the creatures were backing him up.  
“Who the hell are you?” asked the young man.  
“Circuit judge Orrin Travis, and you’re under arrest.”

 

Once the scene was over, Chris and his men set up base in the corner table of the saloon. Ezra had ventured off after a few drinks to find players for a game of poker. JD went to watch. When the judge reappeared and was asking for someone to be sheriff, the place went silent. JD had perked up with interest while Ezra shied away and looked like he was hiding. The young teen stepped up to volunteer and Buck was on his feet in a second to stop him.  
“Then why don’t you volunteer Buck?” asked JD, a little irritated at the man he looked up to.  
“Already was one. Once was enough.” Buck said, trying to pull the youngster away from making a scene.  
“How about you Ezra? Why don’t you try?” JD said, turning to the man in red who had flinched slightly when his name was called.  
The judge looked at him suspiciously. “Do I know you, sir?”  
“Don’t believe I had the pleasure.” Ezra murmured.  
Chris and Vin could hear the ever so slight tremor in the gambler’s voice and smell the underlining of fear. The man in black stood up with Vin close at his heels.  
“Oh, I never forget a face. Ezra Simons, Ezra Smith. No, you jumped bail. I’ll have your gun.”  
“I don’t think you will.” Came Chris’s cool response, appearing at Ezra’s side. Vin let out a low growl.  
The judge didn’t seem afraid at the new threat, instead looked Chris in the eye.  
“Thank you for backing me up back there, but this man is coming with me.”  
“If you’re really grateful, you will leave me and my pack alone.” Chris said in warning.  
The old man seemed to consider this and looked at the rest of the eyes that were staring at him from the table in the corner. While he had enough experience to know a creature of the dark when he saw one, he was aware that at least two were not werewolves. This pack was definitely different from other packs.  
“How about we strike a deal for the safety of you and your men in this town?”  
Chris frowned, but didn’t say anything.  
“Help me to close this case and stay in the area to keep some peace in this old town and you and your men are left alone. No one is allowed to touch you.”  
Chris looked at Ezra and then at Vin. The others were no doubt watching and waiting for his answer. They couldn’t keep on the trails forever, but then, this arrangement left them in a confined area. With that though, came territory. This would be considered his pack’s. That didn’t sound incredibly bad, considering most of them were drifters.  
“Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Leave a comment and tell me what you think.


End file.
